06:40 AM EDT, 05/26/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Major Asian stock markets closed lower Tuesday as new US military strikes on Iran dampened optimism over a possible peace deal and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 closed down 162.10 points, or 0.3%, at 64,996.09.

Top gainers included SoftBank Group, which jumped nearly 11%, and Taiyo Yuden, with a 7.9% increase. Among the bottom performers are Archion and Chugai Pharmaceutical, falling by 8.7% and 6.5% respectively.

In economic news, Japan slipped behind China to become the world's third largest creditor nation last year even as it set a new all-time record for its tally of overseas assets, Bloomberg News reported, citing finance ministry data.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost 6.58 points, closing with a slight decline to 25,599.45. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 1.6% on the day.

Leading the upside was Lenovo Group, up 16%, while WH Group lost 5.1%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.2, or 7.2 points, to finish Tuesday's trade at 4,145.37.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI rose 2.6%; the Taiwan TWSE declined 0.3%; the Australian ASX 200 fell by 0.4%; and the Singapore Straits Times Index was down 0.8%.

MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index advanced by 0.2%.