Tokyo Nikkei 225 down 2.16%, Seoul KOSPI down 1.76% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Tokyo, 25 Apr - Asian shares outside China closed lower, halting a three-day rally after a muted close on Wall Street overnight.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.52%.

In Asian stock market dealings technology shares were among the biggest decliners, tracking their US peers lower following disappointing earnings forecasts from Facebook parent Meta Platforms.

Investors monitored the Bank of Japan's two-day meeting that started today, with a rate decision due tomorrow.

The central bank is expected to keep its short-term interest rate target unchanged as it meets for the first time after a historic interest rate hike in March.

Traders also awaited first quarter US gross domestic product data later today and personal consumption expenditures, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, for March tomorrow.

The Nikkei index closed down 2.16% at 37,628 points and in Seoul the KOSPI closed down 1.76% at 2,628 points.

The markets were closed in Sydney for the Anzac Day public holiday.

The Shanghai Composite index was up 0.28% at 3,053 points and the Hong Kong Hang Seng index was up 0.39% at 17,268 points.

In Mumbai the Sensex index was up 0.03% at 73,873 points.

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(RADIOCOR) 25-04-24 09:04:09 (0203) 5 NNNN