Elections, Central Banks Roil Asian Stock Markets

06:39 AM EDT, 07/16/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets finished mixed and muted Wednesday as traders awaited fresh catalysts, weighed central bank actions and pending elections.

Hong Kong edged lower while Shanghai and Tokyo finished flat. Other regional exchanges were mixed and muted.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened evenly, waffled and finished essentially even, as traders awaited pending weekend elections for the House of Councillors, the nation's upper legislative body.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 14.62 to 39,663.40, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 141 to 80.

Leading the upside was entertainment-house Toho, up 10.9% after upping an earnings forecast, while semiconductor-manufacturing equipment maker Lasertec fell 5%.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened higher but declined through the day, finishing off 0.3% as investors gauged values after five trading days in the green.

Property stocks were pressured after the Hong Kong Monetary Authority tightened monetary policy to support the Hong Kong dollar, thus tending to lift interest rates.

The broad gauge Hang Seng fell 72.36 to 24,517.76, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 54 to 28. The Hang Seng TECH Index lost 0.2% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index fell 1.7%.

Leading the upside was ANTA Sports Products, gaining 2.3%, while knitwear-maker Shenzhou International declined 2.8%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite finished flat at 3,503.78.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI fell 0.9%; the Taiwan TWSE added 0.9%; the Australian ASX 200 retreated 0.8%; the Singapore Straits Times Index gained 0.3%, and the Thai Set lost 0.3%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was up 0.1%.

In economic news, Bank Indonesia cut its key policy rate to 5.25% from 5.50%.

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