Asian stocks rise as US inflation data dents September Fed hike bets

TOKYO, Aug 13 : Asian stocks rose on Thursday after U.S. inflation data came in as expected, dampening expectations of further near-term Federal Reserve rate hikes, while oil held near $80 a barrel as Washington and Tehran remained deadlocked over efforts to end the Gulf war.MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.97 per cent, led by South Korean shares jumping 4.4 per cent. Japan's Nikkei gained 1.86 per cent, while S&P 500 E-minis were up 0.02 per cent. U.S. consumer prices increased 0.1 per cent in July, in line with expectations, data showed on Wednesday. The small increase could weaken the argument for an interest rate increase from the Fed next month. Money markets are predicting a 40 per cent chance of a rate hike, down from 54 per cent a week ago, accordin