Asian Shares Mixed

Asian shares were mixed Tuesday, as worries in the region about the coronavirus omicron variant tempered market optimism set off by a rally on Wall Street, the Associated Press reported.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 1.7% in morning trading to 29,278.31 as markets reopened after the New Year holidays.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 jumped 1.7% to 7,570.00. South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.3% to 2,979.23. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 0.3% to 23,206.26. The Shanghai Composite edged down 0.4% to 3,627.10.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude rose 26 cents to $76.34 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It gained 87 cents to $76.08 per barrel on Monday. Brent crude, the international standard, added 35 cents to $79.33 a barrel.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 115.74 Japanese yen from 115.31 yen. The euro cost $1.1302, inching up from $1.1296.