Tokyo Nikkei 225 down 0.40%, S&P ASX 200 up 0.44% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Tokyo , 13 Jun - Asian shares closed mostly higher, with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan up 0.65% after rising 3% last week following a two-week drop.

In the region's stock market dealings technology shares were among the biggest advancers as they tracked an overnight rally on Wall Street amid a continued artificial intelligence-fueled rally, with Apple soaring after it announced plans to incorporate AI into its flagship devices.

A soft US consumer price inflation reading also helped support sentiment, but gains were capped by a hawkish Federal Reserve.

The US central bank yesterday slashed its outlook for interest rate cuts, warning that it expects only one rate cut this year, down from previous forecasts of three.

Tokyo shared lagged their Asian peers as investors braced for the Bank of Japan's two-day monetary policy meeting starting today, with the central bank widely expected to keep its benchmark policy rate unchanged on Friday.

Analysts however expect the BoJ to tighten policy by reducing the pace of its bond purchases, following recent signs of a rebound in Japanese inflation and improving wages.

The Bank of Japan hiked rates for the first time in 17 years in March, bringing them out of negative territory.

In mainland China, US-China trade tensions continued to weigh on investor sentiment amid reports of more US trade scrutiny against Beijing.

The Nikkei index closed down 0.40% at 38,720 points, in Sydney the S&P ASX 200 closed up 0.44% at 7,749 points, while in Seoul the KOSPI closed up 0.98% at 2,754 points.

The Shanghai Composite index was down 0.40% at 3,025 points and the Hong Kong Hang Seng index was up 0.51% at 18,030 points. In Mumbai the Sensex index was up 0.28% at 76,820 points.

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(RADIOCOR) 13-06-24 09:09:28 (0174) 5 NNNN