05:36 AM EST, 02/19/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets turned in a choppy Wednesday after US President Donald Trump raised the possibility of 25% tariffs on certain imported products from Asia, including automobiles.

Hong Kong and Tokyo finished in the red, although Shanghai gained ground. Other regional exchanges were also uneven.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened lower and could not recover, finishing off 0.3% as traders weighed the Trump Administration's tariff proposals.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 105.79 to 39,164.61, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 127 to 96.

Leading the upside was cosmetics-house Shiseido, up 13.1%, while Fujifilm declined 4.6%.

In economic news, Japan logged an $18.2 billion trade deficit in January, due in part to imports of electronics, while a weaker yen also pushed up imported commodities prices, the Finance Ministry reported.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened lower and stayed in the red zone, finishing off 0.1% as traders took profits after recent rallies.

The broad gauge Hang Seng fell 32.57 to 22,944.24 although gaining issues outnumbered losers 39 to 38. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 0.6% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index rose 1%.

Leading the upside was chin Mengniu Dairy, gaining 10.4%, while Hang Seng Bank declined 3.9%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.8% to 3,351.54.

On the other regional exchanges, the South Korean KOSPI rose 1.7%; the Taiwan TWSE declined 0.3%; the Australian ASX 200 declined 0.7%; the Singapore Straits Times Index rose 0.2%, and the Thai Set inclined 0.4%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was steady.