*MSCI Asia ex- Japan inches up 0.3 pct, Nikkei opens down. *Reserve Bank of Australia seen standing pat. TOKYO, April 2- Asian shares inched higher but were capped on Tuesday with the dollar vulnerable after unexpectedly weak U.S. factory data raised investor caution ahead of new indicators that could flag falling economic momentum.
NEW DELHI/ MUMBAI, April 1- India's top court rejected Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG's plea for patent protection of its cancer drug Glivec, a move likely to boost the prospects of Indian pharmaceutical firms over their foreign rivals.
That cruel reality confronts the four large emerging stock markets known as the BRICs: Brazil, Russia, India and China.
*MSCI Asia ex- Japan falls 0.7 pct, dragged by banks and China. TOKYO, March 28- Asian shares fell on Thursday as weak euro zone data, a sluggish debt auction in Italy and fears of a potential run on Cyprus's banks stoked investors' concerns about instability in Europe.
*MSCI Asia ex- Japan falls 0.6 pct, dragged by banks and China. The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.6 percent, wiping out the previous day's gains, which had taken the index to a one-week high.
HONG KONG, March 28- Hong Kong shares may start weaker on Thursday as investors take risk off the table ahead of a four-day Easter weekend with the potential for a run on Cyprus's banks when they reopen later in the day still unnerving markets.
*Port and rail deal in South Africa is example of ties* Poor African facilities slow delivery of commodities* Africa broadly welcomes China, but calls for more balance By Jon Herskovitz.
DURBAN, South Africa, March 27- China's decision to spend billions of dollars this week to revamp South Africa's rail lines and a major port show the importance Beijing places on making sure African minerals reach its fast-growing industries.
LONDON/ BUDAPEST, March 27- Hungary's former central bank governor Andras Simor will join the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in July as its new Vice-President in charge of policy, the development bank said on Wednesday.
"The market has entered a bit of stabilisation after the uncertainties and turmoil that we have had in Cyprus. In equities, the momentum remains positive because of what's going on in the United States, "said HSBC strategist Murat Toprak. In Russia, where companies have heavy exposure to Cyprus, the dollar-denominated stock index.