05:42 AM EST, 01/31/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets unevenly gained on Friday, as tech issues firmed on earnings-season results, while a softer yen boosted export shares in Japan.

Tokyo finished in green, as did most other regional exchanges, while Hong Kong, Shanghai and Taiwan remained closed on holiday.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened modestly higher on Wall Street cues and held ground, finishing up 0.2% on earnings-season results.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 58.52 to 39,572.49, although losing issues outnumbered gainers 119 to 103.

Leading the upside was IT-giant NEC Corp., up 18.4%, while Hino Motors declined 12.2%, with both moves following earnings releases.

In economic news, Japan retail sales rose by 3.7% on-year in December, stepping up from a 2.8% gain in November, reported the Ministry of Economy Trade & Industry.

Japan's industrial output rose 0.3% in December from November, although it slipped from 1.1% from a year earlier.

The nation's unemployment rate declined to 2.5% in December from 2.6% in November, while there were 125 job openings for every job seeker in Japan, unchanged from month-to-month.

Tokyo's core consumer price index (CPI), that strips out fresh food, rose 2.5% on year in December, up from the 2.4% on-year gain in November, also reported officials.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI fell 0.8%; the Australian ASX 200 inclined 0.5%; the Singapore Straits Times Index rose 1.4%, and the Thai Set declined 1.6%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was up 1%.