Tokyo — Asian stocks came off record highs on Friday but were still poised to end the week with strong gains, while the battered dollar won back some ground after President Donald Trump said he wanted a strong US currency. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was effectively flat at 609.50 after reaching a record intraday high of 611 on Thursday, capped after Wall Street shares lost momentum overnight. MSCI’s Asia-Pacific index was still poised to rise about 1.8% on the week and headed for its seventh straight week of gains. World equity markets have rallied over the past year, buoyed by a synchronised uptick in global economic growth that has been a boon to corporate profits and stock valuations. South Korea’s Kospi was flat and the dollar’s bounce against the yen lifted Japanese stocks, with the Nikkei rising 0.15%. Australian markets were closed for a public holiday. The Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 index ended at record closing levels on Thu...
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