Asian shares higher on signs of U.S. Fed slowdown, China stimulus

By Stella Qiu SYDNEY (Reuters) – Asian shares tracked Wall Street higher on Thursday, buoyed by signals the U.S. Federal Reserve may slow the pace of interest rate hikes and news of fresh economic stimulus from China, with the dollar failing to recoup losses. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.8% in early trade, boosted by a 0.6% gain in South Korean shares, a 0.5% increase in China’s bluechips and a 0.9% jump in Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index Japan’s Nikkei surged 1.3%. S&P 500 futures were up 0.2%, while Nasdaq futures rose 0.3%, after modest gains…