Tokyo Nikkei 225 down 0.10%, S&P ASX 200 up 0.23% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Tokyo , 02 May - Asian shares closed mostly flat as they took a breather from recent gains, with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan up 0.58%.

The regional index rose nearly 1% in April, its third straight month of gains.

Investors digested the US Federal Reserve's decision yesterday to hold interest rates steady at a range of 5.25% to 5.5% as widely expected amid sticky inflation.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell however downplayed the possibility of a rate hike as the central bank's next move, helping lift US stocks in overnight trade.

Caution prevailed in Japan amid heightened yen volatility.

The currency rose overnight after another burst of suspected intervention from Japanese authorities to stop a sharp drop, but underlying weakness in the currency still persisted amid prospects of higher-for-longer US interest rates.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index outperformed its Asian peers as real estate developers soared after Beijing lifted restrictions on multiple home buying across several major cities after a 13-year freeze.

Trading volumes were low as mainland Chinese markets were closed today and tomorrow for Labor Day.

The Nikkei index closed down 0.10% at 38,236 points, in Sydney the S&P ASX 200 closed up 0.23% at 7,587 points, while in Seoul the KOSPI closed down 0.31% at 2,683 points.

The Hong Kong Hang Seng index was up 2.43% at 18,194 points.

In Mumbai the Sensex index was up 0.38% at 74,769 points.

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(RADIOCOR) 02-05-24 09:08:59 (0179) 5 NNNN