Asian Equities Higher on Fed Rate Optimism

Asian stocks rose, with the benchmark index on course to gain for a fourth day, as a slowdown in the U.S. retail sales fueled bets the Federal Reserve won’t raise interest rates earlier than expected.

Fairfax Media Ltd., a newspaper publisher, jumped 7.1 percent in Sydney after profit beat estimates. Telstra Corp., Australia’s largest phone company, rose 1.9 percent after announcing a share buyback and posting annual profit above estimates. NCsoft Corp., a maker of online games, advanced 8 percent in Seoul after reporting quarterly profit increased.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) added 0.2 percent to 147.53 as of 10:45 a.m. in Tokyo after rising 2.2 percent the past three days. Eight of the gauge’s 10 industry groups advanced today. A drop in China’s credit expansion and an unexpected slowdown in investment spending added to speculation that policy makers will expand stimulus in the world’s second-biggest economy.

Bloomberg

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