06:50 AM EDT, 03/26/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets largely gained Wednesday as traders gauged odds that the Trump administration's planned tariffs may be tempered.

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

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened higher on Wall Street cues and finished up 0.7%, as export issues also received a boost from a softer yen.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 246.75 to 38,027.29, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 158 to 64.

Leading the upside was Sumitomo Metal Mining, up 5.5%, while video game-maker Nexon declined 5.9%.

In economic news, Japan's corporate services price index rose 3% on year in February, reported the Bank of Japan.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened and held ground, finishing up 0.6% on international trade outlooks.

The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 139.07 to 23,483.32 as gaining issues outnumbered losers 50 to 27. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 1% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index rose 2.5%.

Leading the upside was knitwear-maker Shenzhou International, gaining nearly 13%, while beverage house Nongfu Spring declined 8.3%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite was flat at 3,368.70.

In other news, Contemporary Amperex Technology, aka CATL -- billed as the world's largest maker of electric vehicle batteries -- got approval from Beijing regulators to list on the Hong Kong stock market and raise $5 billion.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI rose 1.1%; the Taiwan TWSE declined 0.1%; the Australian ASX 200 inclined 0.7%; the Singapore Straits Times Index rose 0.2%, and the Thai Set added 0.5%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was down 0.8%.