<div id="readability-page-1" class="page">05:47 AM EST, 02/13/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets fell back on Friday, tracking overnight sell-offs on Wall Street as concerns that emergent AI will disrupt business models continue to rattle global equities markets.Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo finished in the red, as did other regional exchanges. Trading floors in Taiwan remained closed on holiday.In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened lower and could not recover, finishing off 1.2% as traders booked profits after a week of gains, and weighed hawkish comments by a Bank of Japan board member.The benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 697.87 to 56,941.97, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 160 to 64.Leading the upside was Nissan Motor, up 8.8%, while game-maker Nexon declined 16.2%, with both moves following earnings reports.In economic news, the Bank of Japan could hike rates in the spring if wage growth is sustained, said Naoki Tamura, central bank board member, to a Yokohama business conference, reported The Japan Times.In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened lower and softened thereafter, closing down 1.7% as traders backed away from tech and property issues.The broad gauge Hang Seng fell 465.42 to 26,567.12 as losing issues outnumbered gainers 68 to 16. The Hang Seng TECH Index lost 0.9% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index fell 2%.Leading the upside was hotpot dining-chain HaiDiLao, gaining 3.1%, while Zijin Mining declined 7.6%.On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite fell 1.3% to 4,082.07.In economic news, China new homes prices fell 0.4% on-month in January, and by 3.1% on-year, reported the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The nation's home prices have been declining since mid-2022.On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI fell 0.3%; the Australian ASX 200 declined 1.4%; the Singapore Straits Times Index fell 1.5%, and the Thai Set declined 0.7%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was down 1.3%.The MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index fell 1.4% to 253.65 on the day. MT Newswires does not provide investment advice. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.</div>

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Asian stock markets declined on Friday, following Wall Street's sell-offs due to concerns over AI disrupting business models. The Nikkei 225 fell 1.2%, influenced by profit-taking and hawkish comments from a Bank of Japan board member. The Hang Seng Index dropped 1.7%, with tech and property stocks underperforming. The Shanghai Composite decreased by 1.3%, amid falling new home prices in China. Other regional markets also saw declines, with the MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index down 1.4%.

Wall Street Cues Damp Asia Stock Markets