Asian shares steady, but strong yen sinks Nikkei

Asian shares were steady on Thursday as Wall Street eked out modest gains after the latest batch of U.S. data provided few clues on when the Federal Reserve might raise rates, while a resurgent yen pressured equity markets in Japan. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was flat in early trading. Japan's Nikkei skidded 1.3 percent, after the dollar sunk to a two-week low against the yen overnight following Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's official announcement late on We