Asian Stocks Advance as Dovish Fed Gives Boost to Risk Assets
- MSCI Asia Pacific index heads towards a fifth weekly gain
- Energy shares advance as crude climbs above $39 in New York
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Asian stocks rose to the highest level since January and measures of expected equity volatility declined after the Federal Reserve pared back expectations for interest-rate increases this year.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 2 percent to 128.63 as of 5:06 p.m. in Tokyo, with commodity and financial shares leading the advance. The Fed’s signal that borrowing costs won’t rise as fast as officials previously forecast propelled U.S. stocks to their highest level this year. Japanese shares slipped after guidance from the U.S. central bank helped strengthen the yen.