Asian stock markets turned in a mixed and generally muted Wednesday, as traders watched Persian Gulf turmoils, and tread warily around rich tech-sector valuations.

Hong Kong and Tokyo finished in the red, while Shanghai logged a modest gain. Other regional exchanges were also mixed.

Brent crude oil futures rose 2.7% to $100.52 a barrel, during Asian market hours.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened evenly but closed down 0.2%, as higher crude prices triggered inflation concerns. A stronger yen pressured export issues.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 126.55 to 65,142.78, although gaining issues outnumbered losers 112 to 110.

Leading the upside was Furukawa Electric, up 12.6%, while drugmaker Kyowa Kirin fell 5.9%.

In economic news, Japan's machine tool orders rose by 65.4% on-year in August, reported the Japan Machine Tool Builders' Association.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened lower and could not recover, closing down 0.2% on faltering tech and property issues.

The broad gauge Hang Seng fell 42.22 to 25,274.96, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 55 to 39. The Hang Seng TECH Index lost 0.8% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index fell 0.9%.

Leading the upside was computer-maker Lenovo, gaining 6.8%, while hotpot dining-chain HaiDiLao declined 9.1%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.3% to 3,951.51.

In economic news, China's consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.8% on year in August, while the producer price index (PPI), pushed by energy bills, rose 3.8% in the same time frame.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI rose 1.4%; the Taiwan TWSE declined 0.2%; the Australian ASX 200 declined 0.1%; the Singapore Straits Times Index fell 0.7%, and the Thai Set declined 0.3%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was down 1.1%.

The MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index rose 0.2% on the day.