Asia stocks on track for weekly gain; eyes on US inflation test

Asian shares were set on Friday to snap a three-week losing streak, while investors awaited a key reading on U.S. inflation later in the day to gauge the outlook for U.S. rates. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan held broadly steady and was on track for a weekly gain of 2%. Chinese stocks looked set to end the week on a strong footing as a wave of policy support from Beijing restored fragile investor confidence and put a floor under its sliding stock market.