Tokyo — Asian shares pulled ahead to new four-and-a-half-month highs after the US Federal Reserve affirmed it would be “patient” on further interest rate rises and as China-US trade talks hinted of progress towards a deal in their tariff war. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged up 0.4% to peak last seen in early October. Australian shares rose 0.8% while the Australian dollar seesawed in the wake of strong jobs data for January. Japan’s Nikkei was down 0.1% by the midday break after closing at a two-month high on Wednesday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained nearly 0.4% to hit a more than six-month high reached during the previous session. Chinese shares were up 0.3%, near a more than half-year high. Investors have been cheered over recent days by signs of progress in China-US trade talks. The trade war between the economic giants has roiled financial markets over the past year. The US and China have started to outline commitments in principle on the stickiest...
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