Asian shares made solid gains and the euro rose on Tuesday, but concerns over euro zone sovereign funding ahead of key auctions outweighed some optimism on the economic outlook elsewhere and kept investors cautious about taking riskier positions. MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1.6 percent as the materials sector outperformed after Alcoa Inc, the largest U.S. aluminium producer, gave a positive outlook for world demand. Alcoa partly helped lift Australian shares and also Japan's Nikkei, which closed up 0.4 percent. European markets were expected to open higher. Financial spreadbetters ... (full story)