07:12 AM EDT, 07/12/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets were choppy on Friday, as Tokyo traders eyed an appreciating yen, and Hong Kong investors were cheered by prospects for lower global interest rates.

Hong Kong rallied, Shanghai was flat, and Tokyo finished in the red. Other regional exchanges were also mixed.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened lower on overnight Wall Street cues and declined to the close, finishing off 2.4% as a stronger yen undercut export issues.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 1,033.34 to 41,190.68, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 159 to 65.

Leading the upside was home-furnishings retailer Nitori, up 4.5%, while maker of semiconductor-manufacturing devices Disco fell back 8.8%.

In economic news, the Japanese yen rose to 159 to the US dollar, up from near 162 in recent foreign-exchange (FX) action.

Traders in Tokyo speculated that official Japan yen-buying intervention in FX market is boosting the yen, and concerns were raised of another intervention during the pending three-day holiday weekend, reported The Mainichi newspaper.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened higher and rose to the close, finishing up 2.6% after a soft inflation from Washington overnight bolstered hopes for easing from the US Federal Reserve, which would also enable easing by the People's Bank of China and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.

The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 461.05 to 18,293.38, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 72 to 10. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 2.3% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index rose 3.8%.

Leading the upside was property-developer Longfor, gaining 8.3%, while aluminum producer China Hongqiao fell 3.1%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite finished essentially flat at 2,971.30.

In economic news, mainland China's goods exports in June rose 8.6% on year to $307.8 billion, but goods imports fell 2.3% on year to $208.8 billion, reported the General Administration of Customs on Friday.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI fell 1.2%; the Taiwan TWSE declined 1.9%; the Australian ASX 200 inclined 0.8%; the Singapore Straits Times Index rose 0.6%, and the Thai Set inclined 0.2%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was up 0.8%.