Tokyo Nikkei 225 down 0.53%, S&P ASX 200 up 0.76% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Tokyo , 26 Jul - Asian shares closed slightly higher, halting a recent selloff after a mixed close on Wall Street overnight.

In Asian stock market dealings technology shares steadied after yesterday's selloff but were still set for a weekly loss.

The technology sector sank last week on profit taking as expectations of US interest rate cuts, prompted investors to rotate into more economically sensitive sectors.

In Japan, investors assessed July inflation data out of Tokyo, which is seen as a leading indicator of nationwide trends.

Tokyo's headline inflation slowed slightly to 2.2% in July from 2.3% in May, while core inflation remained unchanged at 2.2%, in line with expectations.

The safe-haven yen posted its strongest week in nearly three months ahead of the Bank of Japan's meeting next week.

The Nikkei index closed down 0.53% at 37,667 points, in Sydney the S&P ASX 200 closed up 0.76% at 7,921 points, while in Seoul the KOSPI closed up 0.78% at 2,731 points.

The Shanghai Composite index was up 0.10% at 2,889 points and the Hong Kong Hang Seng index was up 0.18% at 17,036 points.

In Mumbai the Sensex index rose 0.84% to 80,711 points.

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(RADIOCOR) 26-07-24 09:01:14 (0196) 5 NNNN