06:33 AM EDT, 05/30/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets ended mostly lower Thursday as rising global interest rates and stubborn China property-market concerns undercut trader sentiments.

Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Tokyo finished in the red, as did most other regional exchanges.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened lower and could not recover, finishing off 1.3% as traders noted higher yields on key government bonds.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 502.74 to 38,054.13, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 143 to 80.

Leading the upside was department store chain Takashimaya, up 4.7%, while semiconductor-test equipment maker Advantest declined 6.1%.

In economic news, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Japanese government bonds closed at 1.10%, its highest level since December 2011.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index finished down 1.3%, weighted by sinking property shares.

The broad gauge Hang Seng fell 246.82 to 18,230.19, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 66 to 14. The Hang Seng TECH Index lost 0.3% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index fell 2.4%.

Leading the upside was smartphone components maker Sunny Optical Technology, gaining 6.1%, while China Resources Beer fell 5.7%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.6% to 3,091.68.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI fell 1.6%; the Taiwan TWSE declined 1.4%; the Australian ASX 200 declined 0.5%; the Singapore Straits Times Index was steady, and the Thai Set inclined 0.1%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was down 0.8%.