06:52 AM EDT, 05/21/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets waffled lower Tuesday as traders weighed northerly interest rates in Japan, and the still-uncertain outlook for China property markets.

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

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened higher but then lagged, finishing off 0.3% as higher interest rates cooled sentiments and the property sector.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 declined 122.75 to 38,946.93, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 138 to 85.

Leading the upside was MS&AD Insurance, up 13.8% after reporting earnings, while Sumitomo Pharma lost 8.9%. The Tokyo Stock Exchange REIT Index fell 0.4%.

In economic news, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Japanese government bonds touched 0.98%, up modestly from Monday and striking the highest level since May 2013.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened lower and declined to the close, finishing off 2.1% as traders backed away from property and tech issues, and also reviewed the earnings season.

The broad gauge Hang Seng fell 415.60 to 19,220.62, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 74 to six. The Hang Seng TECH Index lost 3.7% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index fell 1.7%.

Leading the upside was coal miner China Shenhua Energy, gaining 1.7%, while Li Auto fell 19.3%, after reporting earnings.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.4% to 3,157.97.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI fell 0.7%; the Taiwan TWSE declined 0.2%; the Australian ASX 200 declined 0.2%; the Singapore Straits Times Index fell 0.2%, and the Thai Set declined 0.6%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was down 0.1%.