06:33 AM EDT, 08/07/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets churned on Friday, as strong trade figures from Beijing boosted China-exposed exchanges, but other trading floors tracked lower on tech-sector weakness and Persian Gulf concerns.

Hong Kong and Shanghai gained ground, while Tokyo finished in the red, as did most other regional markets.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened evenly, waffled, and finished off 0.1% as broad-market gains nearly offset declines in tech shares.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 76.55 to 65,606.71, although gaining issues outnumbered losers 148 to 74.

Leading the upside was Mitsubishi Materials, up 15.7%, while online medical-services provider M3 declined 16.9%, with both moves following earnings releases.

In economic news, Japan household spending in June dropped 3.3% on-year, reported the Ministry of Internal Affairs & Communications.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened lower but gained ground, closing up 0.5% after a trade report from Beijing indicated exports were rising.

The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 137.75 to 25,668.03 although losing issues outnumbered gainers 47 to 44. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 0.8% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index rose 0.6%.

Leading the upside was Wuxi Biologics, gaining 10.8%, while pork purveyor WH Group declined 3.1%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite rose 1% to 3,940.04

In economic news, China's exports in July rose 23.9% on-year to $397.85 billion, and imports gained 27.5% to $285.35 billion, resulting a monthly trade surplus of $112.50 billion, reported the Customs Administration.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI fell 0.6%; the Taiwan TWSE declined 0.4%; the Australian ASX 200 declined 0.1%; the Singapore Straits Times Index rose 1.1%, and the Thai Set declined 0.2%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was down 0.6%.

The MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index rose 0.1% on the day.