05:38 AM EST, 11/19/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets waffled on Wednesday ahead of the pending earnings release from AI-darling and bellwether Nvidia (NVDA), the US-based chipmaking colossus.

Hong Kong and Tokyo finished in the red, while Shanghai edged higher. Other regional exchanges were also mixed.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened evenly, wobbled but closed down 0.3% as traders weighed tech-sector valuations and awaited the Nvidia earnings report.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 165.28 to 48,537.70, although gaining issues outnumbered losers 112 to 111.

Leading the upside was retail conglomerate Aeon, up 4.6%, while silicon-wafer maker Sumco declined 6.3%.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened evenly and drifted lower, closing off 0.4% as traders took to sidelines after overnight declines in tech issues traded on Wall Street.

The broad gauge Hang Seng fell 99.38 to 25,830.65, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 53 to 34. The Hang Seng TECH Index lost 0.7% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index fell 0.2%.

Leading the upside was China Petroleum & Chemical, gaining 2.9%, while smartphone and automaker Xiaomi declined 4.8%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.2% to 3,946.74.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI fell 0.6%; the Taiwan TWSE declined 0.7%; the Australian ASX 200 declined 0.3%; the Singapore Straits Times Index was flat, and the Thai Set inclined 0.2%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was up 0.6%.