Tokyo Nikkei 225 up 1.26%, S&P ASX 200 up 0.28% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Tokyo , 03 Jul - Asian shares closed mostly higher, rebounding from yesterday's losses.

The region's stock markets tracked overnight gains on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ Composite finished at record highs after Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell flagged some 'progress' in bringing down inflation, reinforcing expectations the central bank could soon cut interest rates.

Investors also assessed a slew of economic data from the region.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.64% after rising for a fifth straight month in June, when it climbed more than 3%, its best performance since February.

The regional index was up 7% so far in 2024, hovering at its highest level since April 2022.

Japanese shares closed sharply higher, soaring for a second straight session and leading the gains in the region as recent data pointing to a weaker economy seemed to ease pressure on the Bank of Japan to increase interest rates.

Chinese stocks bucked the trend and dropped following a disappointing reading on service sector activity.

The Nikkei index closed up 1.26% at 40,580 points, in Sydney the S&P ASX 200 closed up 0.28% at 7,739 points while in Seoul the KOSPI closed up 0.47% at 2,794 points.

The Shanghai Composite index was down 0.55% at 2,980 points and the Hong Kong Hang Seng index was up 1.09% at 17,964 points. In Mumbai the Sensex index was up 0.54% at 79,871 points.

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(RADIOCOR) 03-07-24 08:56:59 (0162) 5 NNNN