Asian stocks move higher on hopes the Fed will ease rate hikes

Tom Westbrook SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Asian shares climbed cautiously on Monday on hopes that the Federal Reserve may be less aggressive in raising interest rates this week, while wheat prices surged after Russia pulled out of a deal to allow Ukrainian grain to pass through the Black Sea. Gains in Hong Kong, Australia and South Korea pushed the MSCI Asia-Pacific stock index higher and Japan rose 0.8%. But Chinese stocks fell on weak economic data, with the MSCI falling for a tenth straight month. 225 Japan’s Nikkei rose 1.5%. performed a rebound on Wall Street on Friday, but as bond and money markets tempered some bets on the Fed changing its tone. The dollar steadied on Monday after a two-week losing streak, rising 0.5% against the yen. “Things are getting too pessimistic,” said Junbei Liu, a portfolio manager at Tribeca Investment Partners in Sydney. Speaking of rising stock markets. She added that the U.S. tech giant’s recent drop may indicate that there’s enough bad news in the price. “The valuation crisis is over for a lot of companies…our earnings have been downgraded and now the market is starting to look very Attractive in some areas.”