Tokyo Nikkei 225 up 1.57%, S&P ASX 200 up 1.44% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Tokyo , 07 May - Asian shares closed mostly higher, extending recent gains and climbing to new 15-month highs.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.30% after rising nearly 1% gain in April, its third straight month of gains.

Investor sentiment in the region was underpinned by renewed bets that the Federal Reserve would slash rates this year, following a cooler than expected US nonfarm payrolls report last Friday.

Japanese and South Korean shares closed sharply higher in catch-up trade as the markets reopened in Tokyo and Seoul after a long weekend.

Technology shares led the gains in Tokyo and Seoul dealings.

Sydney's S&P ASX 200 also rose as investors digested the Reserve Bank of Australia's decision to keep interest rates steady at 4.35% as expected.

The central bank warned that inflation was easing at a slower-than-expected pace, but stopped short of mentioning rate hikes.

Also supporting the RBA's dovish stance, weak retail sales figures for the first quarter showed that domestic spending was slowing.

Investors now awaited more readings on Japanese inflation and wage growth for clues on whether the Bank of Japan will hike interest rates further this year.

Hong Kong stocks bucked the trend and were slightly lower as the Hang Seng was set to snap a 10-day winning streak, while mainland Chinese shares were little changed after rallying yesterday to at 7-month high.

The Nikkei index closed up 1.57% at 38,835 points, in Sydney the S&P ASX 200 closed up 1.44% at 7,793 points, while in Seoul the KOSPI closed up 2.16% at 2,734 points.

The Shanghai Composite index was up 0.06% at 3,142 points and the Hong Kong Hang Seng index was down 0.54% at 17,460 points. In Mumbai the Sensex index was down 0.68% at 73,393 points.

AAA-Ver

(RADIOCOR) 07-05-24 08:55:25 (0217) 5 NNNN