06:34 AM EDT, 05/13/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets were mixed and muted Monday as traders weighed the unfolding earnings season and noted indications of tightening from Japan's central bank.

Hong Kong gained, while Shanghai and Tokyo finished in the red. Other regional exchanges were also choppy.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened evenly, see-sawed but finished down 0.1% as investors weighed quarterly reports and the Bank of Japan outlook.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 49.65 to 38,179.46, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 136 to 87.

Leading the upside was imaging-house Olympus, up 9.7% after reporting earnings, while civil engineering firm Shimizu lost 8.9%.

In economic news, the Bank of Japan on Monday modestly trimmed the amount of Japanese government bonds it bought in a regular operation, perceived by some as a reduction in the central bank's quantitative easing measures. The Bank of Japan, and other officials, have expressed concerns regarding the relatively low exchange rate of the Japanese yen.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened lower but finished up 0.8% on strength in the tech sector.

The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 151.38 to 19,115.06 as gaining issues outnumbered losers 53 to 25. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 1.4% on the day while the Mainland Properties Index fell 0.3%.

Leading the upside was shipping line Orient Overseas International, gaining 6%, while garment-house Li Ning fell 3.6%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.2% to 3,148.02.

In economic news, mainland China's consumer price index in April posted up 0.3% on the year, but the producer price index (PPI) fell 2.5% in the same period, reported the National Bureau of Statistics.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI was steady; the Taiwan TWSE inclined 0.7%; the Australian ASX 200 was steady; the Singapore Straits Times Index rose 0.4%, and the Thai Set was flat. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was up 0.2%.