Asian stocks eke out gains, dollar nears a 9-month high

By Shinichi Saoshiro TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian stocks eked out gains but lacked clear direction on Monday after Wall Street's sluggish performance late last week, while the dollar hit a near nine-month high as comments from a Federal Reserve official boosted bets of a rate hike by year-end. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan inched up 0.2 percent. Japan's Nikkei moved in a tight range and was last up 0.2 percent.