Asian shares mostly fall in muted trading amid virus worries

By YURI KAGEYAMA
AP Business Writer

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares are mostly lower in muted trading on continuing concerns about surging COVID-19 infections in key regional markets like Japan. Benchmarks fell Tuesday in Japan, China and South Korea in morning trading, although shares rose in Australia. Gains for several Big Tech stocks helped push the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite to more record highs the day before on Wall Street. Global investors have their eyes on several key U.S. economic reports later this week, including consumer confidence on Tuesday and the closely watched monthly employment survey from the Labor Department on Friday.