Asian shares pared losses in September on easing trade worries

(Reuters) - Asian shares pared initial losses in September as trade worries eased somewhat to lift the regional assets in the second half of the month.

Last month, Washington and Beijing imposed tit-for-tat tariffs on each other's goods, though the immediate tax levels were not as high as initially expected, easing fears of a sharp, sudden shock to global growth and lifting stock markets.

The MSCI Asia-Pacific index fell 0.15 percent last month, after a 0.83 percent decline in August.

Philippine stocks topped regional loss makers last month, falling 7.37 percent, followed by India which fell 6.42 percent.

Share indexes in New Zealand, Japan, Thailand, Taiwan and Vietnam are the only ones in the region that have registered gains for 2018 in dollar terms, while the rest have suffered sharp declines.

New Zealand, India, and Malaysian stocks have the highest price-to-earnings ratio based on 12-month forward earnings in Asia, according to Refinitiv data.

(Reporting by Gaurav Dogra and Patturaja Murugaboopathy; Editing by Kim Coghill)