Hong Kong/Tokyo — Stocks in Asia rose marginally on Tuesday as many markets reopened after the Easter long weekend break, while oil jumped to its highest this year as the US tightened sanctions on Iran. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.1%, while Japan’s Nikkei was little changed. Chinese stocks extended losses on concerns that Beijing will slow the pace of further policy easing after unexpectedly strong first-quarter economic data last week. Shares in Shanghai slid 0.4% after policymakers vowed to fine-tune monetary policy, ensuring it is “neither too tight, nor too loose”. Analysts believe Beijing’s message signalled a more tempered approach in easing policy amid worries about debt growth, and sent local stocks to their heaviest fall in almost four weeks on Monday. But Stefan Hofer, chief investment strategist at LGT Bank Asia in Hong Kong, said a market adjustment was expected. China’s blue-chip stocks have surged over 30% so far in 2019 on ...
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