05:54 AM EST, 01/17/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets were mixed and muted Friday ahead of the pending Trump Administration in Washington, but following generally better-than-expected economic reports from Beijing.

Hong Kong and Shanghai edged higher while Tokyo slipped. Other regional exchanges were subdued also.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened lower and could not recover, finishing down 0.3% as a stronger yen undercut export issues and traders grew cautious ahead of the change of administrations in the US.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 121.14 to 38,451.46, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 109 to 113.

Leading the upside was Hino Motors, up 7.6%, adding on to Thursday's gain, after the truck maker settled charges brought by the US government regarding improperly disclosed diesel emissions.

On the downside, videogame maker DeNA fell 7.2%.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened lower but edged higher in the afternoon, finishing up 0.3% after economic releases from Beijing.

The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 61.17 to 19,584.06, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 48 to 30. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 1.4% on the day, while the Mainland Properties index also rose 1.4%.

Leading the upside was Semiconductor Manufacturing International, up 9.6% on the outlook for more chipmaking to take place in mainland China, given rising US trade restrictions.

On the downside, knitwear maker Shenzhen International lost 2.5%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.2% to 3,241.82.

In economic news, China's economy expanded at a relatively robust 5.4% rate in Q4, allowing growth for all of 2024 to meet Beijing's goal of a 5% increase in the nation's gross domestic product, or GDP, reported the National Bureau of Statistics.

Additionally, China's retail sales in December rose 3.7% compared with a year earlier, up from the 3% on-year gain logged in November, while for all of 2024 retail sales increased 3.5% from 2023, said the NBS.

Also, the nation's value-added industrial output grew by 6.2% on year in December and by 5.8% for all of 2024 over 2023, NBS added.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI fell 0.2%; the Taiwan TWSE added 0.5%; the Australian ASX 200 lost 0.2%; the Singapore Straits Times Index added 0.3%, and the Thai Set gained 0.9%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was down 0.6%.