Asian stocks have taken a breather on the last trading day of the year and are set to snap their two-year losing streak with investors buoyed by expectations the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates in 2024. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was little changed on Friday but lurked near a five-month peak and was headed for a 5.0 per cent gain in 2023 after two years of heavy losses. The index has been up more than 11 per cent in the past two months as investors ramped up bets that central banks were done raising interest rates and would soon start easing. Markets are pricing in a 88 per cent…
