Tokyo Nikkei 225 up 1.96%, S&P ASX 200 up 0.86% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Tokyo , 09 Jul - Asian shares closed higher after yesterday's weak session, tracking gains on Wall Street overnight, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite closing at record highs.

Japan's Nikkei index also climbed to new all-time highs.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.4%, hovering at 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 was up 7% so far in 2024, hovering at its highest level since April 2022.

In Asian stock market dealings semiconductor shares led the gains as they tracked their US peers higher amid a continued hype over artificial intelligence.

Investors awaited a two-day testimony by Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell beginning later in the day and the US consumer price index reading due on Thursday to assess the Fed's interest rate path, amid growing bets on lower US interest rates.

Traders also looked ahead to China's inflation figures due on Wednesday for further clues on the state of the country's economic recovery.

Investors also monitored central bank decisions from South Korea, New Zealand and Malaysia this week, although no changes are expected, according to a Reuters poll of economists.

The Nikkei index closed up 1.96% at 41,580 points, in Sydney the S&P ASX 200 closed up 0.86% at 7,829 points, while in Seoul the KOSPI closed up 0.34% at 2,867 points.

The Shanghai Composite index was up 1.20% at 2,957 points and the Hong Kong Hang Seng index was up 0.19% at 17,540 points.

In Mumbai the Sensex index rose 0.36% to 80,250 points.

AAA-Ver

(RADIOCOR) 09-07-24 09:03:54 (0173) 5 NNNN