HONG KONG, June 12: Asian stocks closed mixed on Monday with investors holding their nerve in the wake of steep falls and ahead key economic data due out of the United States.

Dealers said their chief concerns -- rising US interest rates against a backdrop of slower economic growth -- remained and the next moves in the market would be largely dictated by US inflation figures.

The US May producer price index and retail sales data will be released on Tuesday, while the consumer price index and the Federal Reserve's Beige Book are due out on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke will deliver two speeches in Washington, one later Monday and the other Tuesday. He will also speak in Chicago on Thursday about energy issues.

Most experts expect another US rate hike to be announced on June 29, which would force regional central banks in Asia to follow suit, but the picture after that is less clear.

As a result mild gains were notched-up in Tokyo, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai. Singapore, Hong Kong and Taipei were flat while slight losses were recorded in Wellington and Jakarta.

Mumbai provided the only stand out, slumping 3.41 per cent.

Bangkok, Manila and Sydney were closed for public holidays.

TOKYO: Share prices closed 0.56 per cent higher as strong growth data helped brighten the mood and bargain-hunters emerged following last week's sharp market slump.

Dealers said that heavy selling by foreign investors and speculators is likely to ease following the expiry of June futures and options contracts last week.

At the same time, the market continued to fret over weakness on Wall Street and the prospect of higher US interest rates, the main factor leading the market to shed 6.58 per cent last week.

The Nikkei-225 index gained 82.17 points to 14,833.01. Volume fell to 1.96 billion shares from 3.17 billion shares Friday, when turnover was inflated by the special quotation for settling the futures and options contracts.

Nippon Oil jumped 30 yen to 798.

HONG KONG: Share prices closed flat as bargain-hunting of select blue chips in late trade helped the market recoup early losses.

Dealers said trade was relatively thin as many investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of the release of key US economic data and speeches by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke this week.

The Hang Seng Index closed down 7.25 points at 15,621.44. Turnover was 23.28 billion Hong Kong dollars (3.0 billion US).

SINGAPORE: Share prices closed steady as gains were capped by on-going worries over higher US interest rates against a backdrop of slowing economic growth.

The Straits Times Index (STI) closed up 1.10 points or 0.05 per cent at 2,338.53. Volume totalled 689.72 million shares worth 724.68 million Singapore dollars (455.77 million US).

KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed 0.14 per cent higher in listless trade with investors reluctant to take significant positions in the absence of fresh leads.

The composite index gained 1.30 points to 916.70 on volume of 259.64 million shares worth 592.09 million ringgit (161.09 million dollars).

JAKARTA: Share prices closed 0.13 per cent lower in quiet trade amid lacklustre regional markets and a weak rupiah, although a rebound in select banking and mining stocks cushioned the fall.

The composite index closed down 1.643 points at 1,273.110 on volume of 678.54 million shares valued at 971.20 billion rupiah (103.08 million dollars).

WELLINGTON: Share prices closed 0.14 per cent lower in light trading, due partially to a holiday in Australia.

The NZX-50 Index was down 4.96 points at 3,613 on turnover worth 46.37 New Zealand dollars (29.09 million US).

MUMBAI: Share prices closed 3.41 per cent lower after a plunge in late trade linked to weak Asian and overnight US trends and selling in index-linked companies.—AFP