By Wayne Cole

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Asian shares consolidated recent hefty gains on Tuesday as hopes for an easing in global trade tensions kept risk appetites keen, while the bull run in tech stocks counted on a bumper round of big-cap earnings this week.

The likelihood of lower borrowing costs in the United States and Canada this week supported bonds, while the dollar paused to see just how dovish the Federal Reserve might be on the outlook.

Meanwhile, safe-haven gold huddled around $4,000 an ounce, as a drop of 9% in five sessions squeezed leveraged money out of a very crowded trade. [GOL/]

“What began as a price rise supported by fundamentals now looks driven by retail enthusiasm,” said Neil Shearing, group chief economist at Capital Economics.

“And with prices still at record highs i

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