06:37 AM EDT, 03/26/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets fell back on Thursday after Washington-Tehran peace talks appeared stalled, and plans to open the Strait of Hormuz were still uncertain.

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

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened higher but lagged, finishing off 0.3% as traders awaited clarity on Middle East hostilities.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 145.97 to 53,603.65, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 117 to 107.

Leading the upside was integrated-circuit maker Socionext, up 6.5%, while plumbing fixtures manufacturer Toto declined 5.7%.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened lower and declined to the close as traders mulled Middle East outlooks, and backed away from tech issues.

The broad gauge Hang Seng fell 479.52 to 24,856.43 as losing issues outnumbered gainers 76 to 13. The Hang Seng TECH Index lost 3.3% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index fell 2.4%.

Leading the upside was China Mengniu Dairy, gaining 2.6%, while streaming platform operator Kuaishou Technology declined 14% after reporting earnings.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite fell 1.1% to 3,889.08.

On the other regional exchanges, the South Korean KOSPI fell 3.2%; the Taiwan TWSE declined 0.3%; the Australian ASX 200 declined 0.1%; the Singapore Straits Times Index fell 0.3%, and the Thai Set declined 1%. Exchanges in Mumbai were closed on holiday.

In South Korea, shares in chip-making giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix declined after the disclosure of Google's (GOOG, GOOGL) new AI compression algorithm, dubbed TurboQuant, triggered concerns that demand for memory chips may be weaker than expected, reported The Korean Herald.

The MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index fell 1.1% on the day.