06:42 AM EDT, 06/17/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets largely tracked higher Wednesday as global crude prices continued to ease, although ongoing concerns regarding mainland China property markets shadowed some exchanges.

Shanghai and Tokyo finished in the green, while Hong Kong fell back. Other regional trading floors were mixed on the high side.

Brent crude futures traded near $79.12 a barrel during market hours, dropping below the $80 mark.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened evenly and rose to the close, finishing up 0.7%.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 497.75 to 69,902.25, striking a fresh all-time zenith, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 136 to 85.

Leading the upside was semiconductor-manufacturing equipment maker Lasertec, up 13.2%, while life insurer T&D declined 3.2%.

In economic news, Japan's exports rose 17.0% on-year in May, the strongest growth since late 2022, reported the Ministry of Finance. Imports rose 12.5% on year in the same time period.

Japan's core machinery orders in April rose 8.7% from March and by 15.6% on year, reported the Cabinet Office.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened evenly but sagged in trading, closing down 0.7% as property stocks continued to weigh on the market.

The broad gauge Hang Seng fell 181.79 to 24,312.16 as losing issues outnumbered gainers 79 to 13. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 0.2% on the day, but the Mainland Properties Index fell 2.3%.

Leading the upside was social-media platform Kuaishou Technology, gaining 7.3%, while Li Auto declined 3.8%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.4% to 4,108.08.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI rose 1.6%; the Taiwan TWSE inclined 0.2%; the Australian ASX 200 inclined 0.5%; the Singapore Straits Times Index rose 1.2%, and the Thai Set declined 0.1%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was up 0.5%.

The MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index rose 0.4% on the day.