Tokyo Nikkei 225 up 1.13%, S&P ASX 200 up 0.77% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Tokyo , 03 Jun - Asian shares closed sharply higher, extending Friday's rebound as investor sentiment was boosted by speculation over interest rate cuts by major central banks.

Regional stocks tracked gains on Wall Street on Friday.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1.4% after dropping 2.5% last week.

In Asian stock market dealings technology shares were among the biggest advancers, led by chipmakers, after US giant Nvidia Corporation unveiled a new line of artificial intelligence chips amid rapidly growing demand from the booming industry.

On the data front, in May Japan's factory activity expanded for the first time in a year, while activity in South Korea grew at the fastest pace in two years.

Mainland Chinese stocks lagged their Asian peers on lingering growth concerns after private PMIs painted a mixed picture of the country's economy.

Private figures revealed today showed that China's manufacturing sector grew more than expected in May and expanded for a seventh straight month, while official PMI data released last week showed an unexpected contraction in the manufacturing sector.

The Nikkei index closed up 1.13% at 38,923 points, in Sydney the S&P ASX 200 closed up 0.77% at 7,761 points, while in Seoul the KOSPI closed up 1.74% at 2,682 points.

The Shanghai Composite index was down 0.71% at 3,064 points and the Hong Kong Hang Seng index was up 2.03% at 18,447 points. In Mumbai the Sensex index was up 3.02% at 76,196 points.

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(RADIOCOR) 03-06-24 09:02:50 (0133) 5 NNNN