Asian shares mostly higher after Wall Street tech rally

By YURI KAGEYAMA
AP Business Writer

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares are mostly higher as investors try to gauge U.S. inflation, tensions between Russia and Ukraine and the impact of the pandemic. Tokyo, Seoul and Sydney advanced while Hong Kong and Shanghai were lower. Japan extended measures in Tokyo and some other places to curb outbreaks of the coronavirus for three weeks, until March 6, to try to bring the spread of the omicron variant under control. Stocks closed broadly higher on Wall Street, led by a rise in technology issues. Wall Street will get another update Thursday on rising prices when the Labor Department releases its report on inflation for January. Economists are forecasting that consumer prices rose 7.3%, a four-decade high.