Singapore — Asian stocks were set to end the week with a bang, lifted by bets on strong US earnings and tax reform, while the euro retreated from a three-week high as jitters returned over French presidential elections on Sunday after a shooting in Paris. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.6%, although it is still poised for a 0.3% weekly loss. Asian steelmakers mostly clocked gains despite the launch of a trade investigation by the US against China and other exporters of cheap steel into the US, after the move sent their US counterparts surging more than 8% overnight. Chinese steelmaker Baoshan Iron and Steel added 0.8%, Angang Steel added 0.8%, while Beijing Shougang was steady and Hesteel swung between gains and losses. Other major steel producers in the region also gained, with Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal jumping 1.35%, and South Korea’s Posco surging 2.1%. "It’s questionable whether there will be actual curbs or actions after a US probe," said ...
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