06:41 AM EDT, 10/31/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets churned Friday as Japan investors leaned into tech shares, while Hong Kong trading floors were damped by a soft manufacturing-sector report from Beijing.

Tokyo rallied, while Shanghai and Hong Kong fell back. Other regional exchanges were similarly mixed.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened higher and rose to the close, finishing up 2.1% as traders again crowded into tech issues, after strong earnings reports from US peers Apple (AAPL) and Amazon.com (AMZN) overnight.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 1,085.73 to 52,411.34, striking a fresh all-time zenith, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 122 to 102.

Leading the upside was video game-maker Konami, gaining 16.8%, while Oriental Land declined 10%.

In economic news, Japan's seasonally adjusted industrial production index rose 2.2% on year in September from August, and rose 3.4% on year, reported the Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry (METI).

Separately, retail sales in Japan in September rose a seasonally adjusted 0.3% on month, and gained by 0.5% on year, reversing declines logged in August, reported METI.

In other news, the Tokyo region consumer price index (CPI) rose 2.8% on year in October, accelerating from the 2.5% on-year rise logged in September, reported the Statistics Bureau.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened lower and sank thereafter, finishing down 1.4% as traders mulled a weak mainland China manufacturing sector report, that refreshed concerns the huge regional economy is still struggling under a weak property sector.

The broad gauge Hang Seng fell 376.04 to 25,906.65, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 61 to 25. The Hang Seng TECH Index lost 2.4% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index fell 0.9%.

Leading the upside was Hansoh Pharmaceuticals, gaining 4.2%, while Semiconductor Manufacturing International declined 5.3%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.8% to 3,954.79.

In economic news, the official China manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) logged at 49.0 in October, down from 49.8 in September, and slipping further below the 50-mark that separates growth from contraction, reported the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI rose 0.5%; the Taiwan TWSE declined 0.2%; the Australian ASX 200 was flat; the Singapore Straits Times Index fell 0.2%, and the Thai Set declined 0.4%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was down 0.6%.