Tokyo Nikkei 225 down 1.63%, S&P ASX 200 up 0.14% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Tokyo , 08 May - Asian shares closed mostly lower, halting a recent rally and slipping from 15-month highs after a flat close on Wall Street overnight.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.29% after rising nearly 1% gain in April, its third straight month of gains.

Uncertainty over the timing of potential US interest rate cuts kept sentiment in check after mixed signals from US policymakers.

Japanese shares closed sharply lower, slipping from three-week highs as investors took profits after yesterday's rally.

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.

Sydney's ASX 200 cased marginally higher near a one-month high after soaring yesterday on less hawkish signals from the Reserve Bank of Australia.

In Asian stock market dealings technology shares dropped as they tracked their US peers lower.

The Nikkei index closed down 1.63% at 38,202 points, in Sydney the S&P ASX 200 closed up 0.14% at 7,804 points, while in Seoul the KOSPI closed up 0.39% at 2,744 points.

The Shanghai Composite index was down 0.59% at 3,129 points and the Hong Kong Hang Seng index was down 0.69% at 18,351 points. In Mumbai the Sensex index was down 0.10% at 73,436 points.

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(RADIOCOR) 08-05-24 09:00:24 (0196) 5 NNNN