Asia shares gain, trading closed in Korea, China for holiday

Asian shares have advanced, mirroring broad overnight gains on Wall Street

TOKYO -- Asian shares gained Tuesday, mirroring broad overnight gains on Wall Street, while trading in China and most other regional markets was closed for Lunar New Year holidays.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 edged up 0.5% in morning trading to 27,139.89. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.4% to 6,996.80.

Wall Street closed a tumultuous January wracked by worries that interest-rate hikes will make everything in markets more challenging. Shares closed higher but still logged their worst monthly loss since the early days of the pandemic.

Investors expect the Federal Reserve to begin raising interest rates in March to fight inflation. Ultra-low rates and other stimulus helped markets recover from the initial shock of the coronavirus pandemic, and then supported stunning gains.