06:43 AM EDT, 07/29/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets churned on Wednesday, as exchanges exposed to semiconductor- and AI-related enterprises fell back, against a backdrop of rising oil prices.

Hong Kong and Shanghai finished in the green, while Seoul, Taiwan, and Tokyo fell back. Other regional exchanges were mixed.

Brent oil traded up 3.9% to $85.28 a barrel during Asian trading hours, as Persian Gulf hostilities captured headlines.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened evenly but dragged in trading, finishing off 1.5% as investors again eschewed semiconductor- and AI-related issues.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 930.73 to 61,434.19, although gaining issues outnumbered losers 143 to 79, as losses were somewhat confined to the tech sector.

Leading the upside was video game-maker Konami, up 12.7% after peer enterprise Capcom reported strong quarterly results, while tech-conglomerate Screen Holdings declined 17.3%.

Seoul's semiconductor-laden KOSPI index declined 6% after chipmaker SK Hynix reported record profits and revenue but an earnings miss, while the Taiwan TWSE fell 3.8%.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened higher and rose to the close, concluding up 2% as traders waded back into depressed property and certain tech shares.

The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 497.07 to 25,807.92 as gaining issues outnumbered losers 86 to seven. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 2.8% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index rose 2.6%.

Leading the upside was Li Auto, gaining 9.9%, while Laopu Gold declined 4.8%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.4% to 3,828.47.

On the other regional exchanges, the Australian ASX 200 inclined 1%; the Singapore Straits Times Index rose 1.7%, while trading floors were dark in Bangkok on holiday. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was up 1.2%

The MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index fell 0.7% on the day.

In other news, Australia's consumer price index in June rose 3.8% on year, above the Reserve Bank of Australia's 2% to 3% target range.