Tokyo — Asian shares erased earlier modest gains on Friday but were still on track for a weekly rise, as sentiment was hurt by Wall Street’s weakness on concern about the progress of US tax reform. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.5%, but poised to gain 0.7% for the week. Chinese shares slumped, with the Shanghai Composite index off 0.9% and the blue-chip CSI300 index down 1%. Japan’s Nikkei stock index was down 0.1%, off its session lows, but still down 0.6% for the week, even amid fresh signs the economy is gathering momentum. Big Japanese manufacturers’ business confidence improved for a fifth consecutive quarter in the three months to December to hit an 11-year high, the Bank of Japan’s (BoJ’s) quarterly tankan survey showed. "The Nikkei came off its lows in the afternoon, largely on futures-led buying," said Ayako Sera, senior market economist at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust. "But regional sentiment is still fragile, which will limit its upside." O...
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