Asia shares rise before China data, more stimulus seen

Asian shares firmed on Wednesday, shrugging off weakness on Wall Street as investors bet that a batch of economic data from China due later in the day would bolster the case for more stimulus in the world's second-largest economy. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.5 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock index edged down slightly. U.S. stocks ended lower on Tuesday after a recent run-up in global bond yields unsettled investors, though stocks recovered from