05:44 AM EST, 02/06/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets rallied Thursday, as Beijing appeared to de-escalate trade tensions with Washington, and as tech issues followed overnight gains by peer shares in New York.

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

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened higher on Wall Street cues and held ground, finishing up 0.6% as traders favored semiconductor and AI-related shares. A stronger yen limited export stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 235.05 to 39,066.53, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 155 to 69.

Leading the upside was semiconductor maker Renesas Electronics, up 12.6%, while industrial conglomerate Kanadevia declined 7.4%, with both moves following earning reports.

In other news, auto giants Nissan Motor and Honda Motor have scrapped merger negotiations.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened evenly and rose to the close, finishing up 1.4% as tech issues led gainers.

The upswings also came after the US Postal Service reversed a plan to halt inbound shipments from mainland China and Hong Kong, on tariff issues.

The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 294.53 to 20,891.62, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 73 to seven. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 2.6% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index rose 0.8%.

Leading the upside was BYD Electronics International, gaining 19.6%, while pork purveyor WH Group declined 1.6%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite rose 1.3% to 3,270.66.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI rose 1.1%; the Taiwan TWSE inclined 0.7%; the Australian ASX 200 inclined 1.2%; the Singapore Straits Times Index rose 0.4%, and the Thai Set declined 1.9%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was down 0.2%.