Shares in China led gains in Asia-Pacific during Wednesday trade as Chinese tech stocks listed in the city jumped.
The Nikkei 225 lost 130.62 points, or 0.4%, to 29,620.99.
The Japanese yen traded at 108.96 per U.S. dollar, stronger than levels above 109.5 against the greenback seen yesterday
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index ballooned 403.58 points, or 1.4%, to 28,900.83.
Shares of Chinese tech firms listed in Hong Kong saw a rebound on Wednesday after 12 companies, including Baidu, JD.com and Meituan, signaled compliance with antitrust laws.
By the Hong Kong market close on Wednesday, shares of Baidu in Hong Kong were up 3.2% while JD.com gained 2.6% and Meituan surged 3.6%.
That development came just a day after Beijing gave so-called platform companies a month to examine their actions and rectify any anti-competitive practices. Shares of most Chinese tech giants in Hong Kong tumbled on Tuesday amid those regulatory fears.
Stocks in Singapore were in the negative. That came despite data showing the country’s economy unexpectedly grew 0.2% in the first quarter of 2021 as compared with a year earlier, according to official advance estimates released Wednesday.
The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7681, above levels below $0.762 seen earlier this week.
In other markets
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 regrouped 40.99 points, or 0.8%, to 4,980.63
In Singapore, the Straits Times index slipped 8.51 points, or 0.3%, to 3,179.39
In Korea, the Kospi index advanced 13.3 points, or 0.4%, to 3,182.38.
In Taiwan, the Taiex index restocked 41.06 points, or 0.2%, to 16,865.97.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 popped 94.96 points, or 0.8%, to 12,751.38.
In Australia, the ASX 200 gathered 46.18 points, or 0.7%, to 7,023.10.