06:48 AM EDT, 10/08/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets drifted lower on Wednesday, as traders joined the global "risk-off" mode on tech issues, after media reports that US-based IT-giant Oracle (ORCL) was generating thinner profits than expected on cloud services.

Hong Kong and Tokyo finished in the red, as did most other regional exchanges. Trading floors in Seoul and Shanghai were closed on holiday.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened higher but slipped in trading, and closed down 0.4% as profit-taking hit tech issues.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 215.89 to 47,734.99, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 122 to 100.

Leading the upside was heavy-equipment maker IHI, which gained 7%, while Oriental Land declined 3.7%.

In economic news, real wages in Japan declined 1.4% on year in August, marking the eighth-straight month that prices out-accelerated pay hikes, reported the Ministry of Health Labor & Welfare.

In other news, the Japanese yen traded 153 to the US dollar, easing from 147 at the start of October, as investors anticipated more government fiscal stimulus, and an accommodative monetary policy from the Bank of Japan, following recent elections.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened lower and could not recover, finishing off 0.5% as AI-related shares lost their shine, and real estate issues pulled back.

The broad gauge Hang Seng fell 128.31 to 26,829.46, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 53 to 32. The Hang Seng TECH Index lost 0.6% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index fell 1.3%.

Leading the upside was personal products-maker Hengan International, gaining 3.5%, while property developer Longfor declined 4.4%.

On the other regional exchanges, the Taiwan TWSE declined 0.5%; the Australian ASX 200 declined 0.1%; the Singapore Straits Times Index fell 0.4%, and the Thai Set was flat. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was down 0.2%.