Tokyo Nikkei 225 down 0.09%, S&P ASX 200 up 0.34% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Tokyo, 21 Jun - Asian shares closed mostly lower in cautious trade, slipping from 26-month highs on profit taking after a mixed session on Wall Street overnight.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slid 0.06% after climbing on Wednesday to its highest level since April 2022 on rate optimism, as soft US data recently reinforced bets that Federal Reserve was on track for two rate cuts this year.

The regional index was set for a weekly gain of 0.9% and a 4% monthly surge in June.

Uncertainty about the Bank of Japan's policy path continued to keep sentiment in check as investors digested data showing that Japan's demand-led inflation slowed in May, complicating the outlook for interest rate hikes.

Last week the Bank of Japan left interest rates unchanged as widely expected but unexpectedly signalled no near-term changes to its bond buying program.

The Nikkei index closed down 0.09% at 38,596 points, in Sydney the S&P ASX 200 closed up 0.34% at 7,796 points, while in Seoul the KOSPI closed down 0.83% at 2,784 points.

The Shanghai Composite index was down 0.18% at 2,999 points and the Hong Kong Hang Seng index was down 1.59% at 18,022 points. In Mumbai the Sensex index was down 0.23% at 77,300 points.

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(RADIOCOR) 21-06-24 08:57:52 (0167) 5 NNNN