Tokyo Nikkei 225 up 0.16%, S&P ASX 200 down 0.12% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Tokyo , 20 Jun - Asian shares closed mixed in cautious trade, hovering near their highest in two years after yesterday's moderate gains.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.05%, keeping on track for a 4% surge in June.

Helping support sentiment, US stock futures pointed to a slightly higher open, with key US benchmark indexes hitting fresh highs as the US markets prepared to reopen after yesterday's Juneteenth public holiday.

Investors looked ahead to central bank decisions from the UK, Switzerland and Norway today for further clues on the global rates outlook.

Back in the region, China kept its one- and five-year loan prime rates unchanged.

Uncertainty about the Bank of Japan's policy path continued to keep sentiment in check, following recent signs of a rebound in Japanese inflation and improving wages.

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 up 0.16% at 38,633 points, in Sydney the S&P ASX 200 closed down 0.12% at 7,760 points, while in Seoul the KOSPI closed up 0.37% at 2,807 points.

The Shanghai Composite index was down 0.43% at 3,005 points and the Hong Kong Hang Seng index was down 0.75% at 18,293 points. In Mumbai the Sensex index was up 0.16% at 77,458 points.

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(RADIOCOR) 20-06-24 09:01:14 (0170) 5 NNNN