Asian shares mixed as earnings fuel gains on Wall Street

By ELAINE KURTENBACH
AP Business Writer

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares are mixed in Asia, with markets in China still closed for Lunar New Year holidays. Tokyo and Sydney declined, while Seoul advanced as markets there reopened. Shares rose Wednesday on Wall Street as the latest batch of company earnings reports kept investors in a buying mood. The S&P 500 rose 0.9% and the Nasdaq added 0.5%. The Dow industrials 0.6%. Google’s parent Alphabet rose 7.5% after it said its digital ad business propelled a 36% jump in profit last quarter. Major indexes are on track for solid gains this week, a welcome turnaround from January’s losses. But investors were rattled after Facebook parent company Meta Platforms’ latest quarterly earnings fell below Wall Street estimates.