Tokyo Nikkei 225 up 0.12%, S&P ASX 200 down 0.22% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Tokyo , 01 Jul - Asian shares closed slightly higher in cautious trade after rising in June for a fifth straight month, as investors assessed mixed economic data out of China and Japan.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.10% after climbing more than 3% in June, its best performance since February.

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

China released its official PMI figures on the weekend, with its manufacturing PMI coming in at 49.5, unchanged from May and marking its second straight month of declines.

A private survey however showed today that China's Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to 51.8 in June from 51.7 in May, exceeding market forecasts of 51.2.

In June, Japan's purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector fell to 50.0 from 50.4 in May, according to figures released by S&P Global and its partner au Jibun Bank.

Japan revised its first-quarter GDP contraction to 2.9% year on year, from 1.8% reported earlier, highlighting growing challenges for the country's economy.

South Korea's factory activity growth picked up pace in June to the fastest in 26 months as new orders rose, a private survey showed today.

The Nikkei index closed up 0.12% at 39,631 points, in Sydney the S&P ASX 200 closed down 0.22% at 7,750 points, while in Seoul the KOSPI closed up 0.23% at 2,804 points.

The Shanghai Composite index was up 0.89% at 2,993 points and in Mumbai the Sensex index was up 0.45% at 79,388 points.

The markets were closed in Hong Kong for a public holiday.

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(RADIOCOR) 01-07-24 09:10:54 (0148) 5 NNNN