Asian stock markets were mixed on the downside Friday, as traders weighed rising global bond yields, and ongoing Middle East uncertainties.

Hong Kong and Tokyo finished in the red, while trading floors in Mumbai and Shanghai were dark on holiday. Other regional exchanges were mixed.

Brent crude oil futures fell 2.4% to $99.81 a barrel, during Asian market hours.

Yields 10-year US Treasuries struck a high of 5.34% in intraday trading Thursday on Wall Street, the highest yield since early 2002.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened lower and could not recover, finishing off 0.9% as strength in tech shares was outweighed by overall market softness.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 647.26 to 68,309.46, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 173 to 50.

Leading the upside was semiconductor-materials maker Resonac, up 8.7%, while tech financiers SoftBank fell 5.8%.

In economic news, Tokyo's core consumer price index, that excludes fresh foods but includes energy bills, rose 2.7% on-year in September, accelerating from a 1.8% on-year rise in August, reported the Statistics Bureau.

The nation's unemployment rate inched up to 2.5% in August from 2.4% in July, reported the Ministry of Internal Affairs & Communications.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened sharply lower after a one-day hiatus and drifted, closing down 2.9% on rising global interest rates.

The broad gauge Hang Seng fell 640.98 to 23,972.20, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 88 to seven. The Hang Seng TECH Index lost 2.3% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index fell 2.9%.

Leading the upside was Weichai Power, gaining 1.4%, while insurer AIA declined 6%.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI rose 0.5%; the Taiwan TWSE inclined 0.3%; the Australian ASX 200 inclined 0.8%; the Singapore Straits Times Index fell 0.6%, and the Thai Set inclined 0.5%.

The MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index fell 0.4% on the day.