Asian stock markets gained ground Thursday on overnight Wall Street cues and as bond yields eased, after the US Treasury disclosed plans to boost buybacks of longer-term government debt.

Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo finished in the green, as did most other regional exchanges. Seoul's KOSPI index surged 5.9% as heavyweight semiconductor issues again found favor.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened higher and held ground, finishing up 1.4% as traders firmed on tech shares and noted lower interest rates.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 890.37 to 66,216.79, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 182 to 41.

Leading the upside was Sumitomo Metal & Mining, up 10.8%, while Aozora Bank declined 3.1%.

In economic news, Japan's exports rose 23.2% in July on the year, while imports rose 27.8% in the same time frame, reported the Ministry of Finance.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index closed up 0.8% as housing and tech shares showed strength.

The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 203.42 to 25,698.49 as gaining issues outnumbered losers 71 to 22. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 0.4% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index rose 1.4%.

Leading the upside was Sino Biopharmaceutical, gaining 12.5%, while social media platform Kuaishou Technology declined 11%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.2% to 3,903.72.

In economic news, the People's Bank of China held key lending rates unchanged, at 3% for one-year loans and 3.5% for five-year loans.

On the other regional exchanges, the Taiwan TWSE was up 0.5%; the Australian ASX 200 rose 0.3%; the Singapore Straits Times Index fell 0.4%, and the Thai Set was flat. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was up 0.8%.

The MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index rose 1.8% on the day.