Asia-Pacific stocks climb to a two-week high

Asian stocks climbed as Shanghai equities rallied to a nine-month high and investors braced for a busy week of earnings across Japan, China and the United States.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.4 percent to 140.27 as of 4:10 pm in Hong Kong, set for a two-week high. The measure capped its best week in a month last week as data showed Chinese economic growth is stabilizing and investors weighed the outlook for higher US borrowing costs. More than 350 companies on Japan's Topix index will release quarterly updates this week. In Hong Kong, reports include those from Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd at the end of the week.

"Earnings is the key metric for investors," said Matthew Sherwood, head of investment strategy at Perpetual Ltd in Sydney, which manages about $21 billion. "Meanwhile, there are a number of important macro events which are holding the market back, including the US election early next month and key Fed and ECB meetings in December."