Asia stocks hemmed in by rate risks, yuan wobbles

Asian equities climbed on Tuesday but could not break this month’s highs as mixed messages from US Federal Reserve policymakers left doubts hanging over the timing of interest rate cuts. The risk of Japan intervening to prevent further falls in the yen put a little pressure on the dollar, however it rose against the yuan on speculation that China may tolerate a weaker currency. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.6 per cent, with gains for South Korean chipmakers SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics leading the Kospi up 1.2 per cent. Japan’s rocketing Nikkei was steady, as…