06:39 AM EDT, 03/10/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets were choppy on Monday, as traders mulled a soft inflation report from Beijing, but sought bargains after recent bear moves in Japan.

Tokyo finished in the green, while Shanghai and Hong Kong lagged. Other regional exchanges were also mixed.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened lower but gained in trading, finishing up 0.4% as investors hunted for values after recent declines.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 141.10 to 37,028.27, as although losing issues outnumbered gainers 114 to 111.

Leading the upside was semiconductor-manufacturing equipment-maker Lasertec, up 10%, while retailer Ryohin Keikaku fell 8.3%.

In economic news, Japan's real wages fell 1.8% on year, reported the Ministry Health, Labor and Welfare. The soft wages could present a challenge to the Bank of Japan, which has been pushing for higher real wages to spur consumption, and the nation's economy.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened lower and fell to the close, finishing off 1.9% after soft inflation reports from Beijing renewed concerns that the nation's economy is still struggling to regain momentum after the pandemic era.

The broad gauge Hang Seng fell 447.81 to 23,783.49, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 59 to 21. The Hang Seng TECH Index lost 2.5% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index fell 1.1%.

Leading the upside was Alibaba Health Information Technology, gaining 3.3%, while knitwear-maker Shenzhou International fell 5.4%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.2% to 3,366.16.

In economic news, China's consumer price index (CPI) fell 0.7% year on year in February, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported Sunday.

The nation's producer price index (PPI), which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, decreased 2.2% on year in February, the NBS also reported.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI rose 0.3%; the Taiwan TWSE declined 0.5%; the Australian ASX 200 inclined 0.2%; the Singapore Straits Times Index fell 0.4%, and the Thai Set declined 2%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was down 0.3%.