Asia shares near month high ahead of c.bank meetings

Investors are preparing for central bank meetings from the US, Europe and Japan this week and the US inflation data. The MSCI Asia-Pacific shares index outside Japan lost ground, but the Nikkei 225 climbed 0.7%, and the Hang Seng Index opened 0.3% higher. China’s economic recovery remains weak. Expectations of further policy stimulus have been bolstered by weak manufacturing output and export figures. Investors are unsure which path the Federal Reserve will take this week, but they believe the European Central Bank meeting on Thursday will set higher interest rates and remain hawkish.