Tokyo Nikkei 225 up 0.94%, S&P ASX 200 up 0.93% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Tokyo , 11 Jul - Asian shares closed broadly higher after yesterday's weak session, with Japan's Nikkei 225 crossing the 42,000 mark for the first time.

In the region's stock market dealings tech shares soared, with chipmakers tracking Taiwan's TSMC higher after stronger-than-expected second quarter revenue figures from the world's largest contract chipmaker.

Asian stocks also tracked gains on Wall Street overnight, as dovish comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell spurred optimism over a soft landing for the US economy.

Traders now awaited the US consumer price index reading due later today to assess the Fed's interest rate path, amid growing bets on lower US interest rates.

Back in the region, the Bank of Korea said that its Monetary Policy Board decided to leave the base rate unchanged at 3.50% for the 12th time in a row, but will examine the timing for a rate cut.

In Japan, private sector machinery orders, excluding volatile ones for ships and from electric power companies, fell 3.2% in May from April when they contracted 2.9%, according to data released by the Cabinet Office.

The figures added to doubts over Japan's economic health, further easing pressure on the Bank of Japan to increase interest rates after recent data pointing to a weaker economy.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rallied 1.26%, climbing to a more than two-year high after climbing for a fifth straight month in June, when it rose more than 3%, its best performance since February. The regional index hovered at its highest level since April 2022.

The Nikkei index closed up 0.94% at 42,224 points, in Sydney the S&P ASX 200 closed up 0.93% at 7,889 points, while in Seoul the KOSPI closed up 0.72% at 2,888 points.

The Shanghai Composite index was up 0.97% at 2,967 points and the Hong Kong Hang Seng index was up 1.84% at 17,793 points.

In Mumbai the Sensex index slid 0.30% to 79,681 points.

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(RADIOCOR) 11-07-24 08:59:38 (0177) 5 NNNN