Singapore — Asian shares scaled a near-decade peak on Thursday, bolstered by a surge in global stocks to new records on strong US corporate earnings, while the yen eased slightly after the Bank of Japan (BoJ) reinforced the expectation it will lag behind other central banks in dialling back stimulus. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.15%, hovering near its highest level since December 2007. Australian stocks rose 0.6% and South Korea’s Kospi was up 0.1%. Chinese blue-chips advanced 0.15%, while the Shanghai Composite edged up 0.25%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng crept up 0.3%. The MSCI World index inched up in its 10th consecutive session of gains on Thursday and set a record high for the sixth consecutive day, lifted by record closing highs on Wall Street in the wake of strong earnings reports. "In the US, the earnings season seems to be surprising a little bit on the upside," said Bruce McCain, chief investment strategist at Key Private Bank in Cleveland. ...
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