06:49 AM EDT, 03/27/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets were choppy Thursday after declines on Wall Street and President Trump's announcement of a 25% tariff on imported automobiles.

However, several China-based enterprises reported higher profits, balancing regional trends.

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

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 finished off 0.6% to 37,799.97 as losing issues outnumbered gainers 131 to 91.

Leading the upside was IT company Fujitsu, up 3.7%, while semiconductor test equipment maker Advantest declined 7.4%.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index advanced 0.4% after solid earnings reports from the Bank of China (Hong Kong) and hotpot restaurant chain Haidilao boosted investor sentiments.

The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 95.48 to 23,578.80 as gaining issues outnumbered losers 54 to 27. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 0.3% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index rose 0.9%.

Leading the upside was natural-gas supplier ENN Energy, gaining 11%, while Xiaomi declined 4.2%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.2% to 3,373.42.

In economic news, the combined profits of mainland China's major industrial enterprises declined 0.3% on the year in the first two months of 2025, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported.

Excluding mining and utilities, China's manufacturing sector reported a year-on-year profit increase of 4.8% in the period, said the NBS.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI fell 1.4%; the Taiwan TWSE declined 1.4%; the Australian ASX 200 declined 0.4%; the Singapore Straits Times Index rose 0.5%, and the Thai Set declined 0.2%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was up 0.5%