Tokyo Nikkei 225 up 1.00%, S&P ASX 200 up 1.08% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Tokyo, 22 Apr - Asian shares closed mostly higher, halting a recent selloff after last week's losses as Middle East concerns eased, helping lift global sentiment.

The region's stock markets had dipped on Friday following reports that Israel had attacked Iran.

Tehran however downplayed the impact of the attacks and said it has no plan for immediate retaliation.

Investors awaited a Bank of Japan rate decision later this week, with the central bank set to meet for the first time after a historic interest rate hike in March.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.90% after falling 1.80% on Friday.

The Nikkei index closed up 1.00% at 37,438 points, in Sydney the S&P ASX 200 closed up 1.08% at 7,649 points, while in Seoul the KOSPI closed up 1.45% at 2,629 points.

The Shanghai Composite index was down 0.64% at 3,045 points and the Hong Kong Hang Seng index was up 1.92% at 16,535 points. In Mumbai the Sensex index was up 0.72% at 73,541 points.

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(RADIOCOR) 22-04-24 09:13:14 (0149) 5 NNNN