Asian shares near four-month peak as BOJ takes the stage

Asian shares reached a near four-month high on Friday as positive U.S. economic data increased expectations that the Federal Reserve has nearly ended its rate-hike campaign. Investors have now shifted focus to the Bank of Japan’s policy meeting. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan increased by 0.31% and is expected to gain 2.5% in the week, its best weekly performance since January. The BOJ is expected to stick with ultra-loose monetary policy despite inflation rising. The CSI 300 Index was 0.3% higher, and the Hang Seng Index gained 0.4%.