Asia stocks rise on hopes regional central banks hold steady on rates

HONG KONG – Asia stocks posted gains on Tuesday, boosted by investor optimism that the region’s central banks will continue to pause or end interest rate hike cycles, whatever action the U.S. Federal Reserve takes.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.6 percent as trading resumed after a long holiday weekend in many major Asian markets.

On Tuesday morning, South Korea’s central bank held interest rates steady for a second consecutive meeting, as expected.

Gary Ng, senior economist at Natixis Corporate and Investment Bank, said Asian economies are more cautious about hiking rates as their determination to preserve growth outweighs concern over taming …

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