Asian stocks up on strong US data; China shares take a breather

Singapore

ASIAN stocks climbed with metals on Wednesday after data showed the US economy grew at the fastest pace since 2003 last quarter. China shares fell on speculation regulators will cool the world's best-performing market of the past month.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 0.6 per cent by 12:18 pm in Tokyo, with the Topix index rising 0.9 per cent. The Shanghai Composite index slumped 2.2 per cent. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.1 per cent after the US gauge surged past 18,000 points for the first time. Australian 10-year debt followed Treasuries lower, with the yield climbing five basis points. The yen rebounded 0.2 per cent after sliding 3.6 per cent over the last five days.