Tokyo Nikkei 225 up 0.14%, S&P ASX 200 up 0.22% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Tokyo, 02 Sep - Asian shares closed mixed after Friday's gains, with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan down 0.4%.

Most Asian markets posted a monthly loss in August after a sharp drop at the beginning of the month.

Investors digested data pointing to a tentative recovery in the region's factory activity in August.

China's Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing purchasing managers' index swung back to growth in August, rising to 50.4 in August from 49.8 in July, beating analysts' forecasts.

Official purchasing managers' index data for August released over the weekend however showed that China's manufacturing PMI contracted for a fourth straight month in August.

Surveys on Japanese and South Korean factory activity released today showed an improvement in activity.

The Nikkei index closed up 0.14% at 38,700 points . In Sydney the S&P ASX 200 closed up 0.22% at 8,109 points, while in Seoul the KOSPI closed up 0.25% at 2,681 points.

The Shanghai Composite index was down 0.83% at 2,818 points and the Hong Kong Hang Seng index was down 1.76% at 17,671 points. In Mumbai the Sensex index rose 028% to 82,595 points.

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(RADIOCOR) 02-09-24 08:58:12 (0121) 5 NNNN