Asian shares mostly higher despite fears of recession

By ELAINE KURTENBACH
AP Business Writer

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares are mostly higher in Asia, despite growing worries over the risks of recession. Oil prices extended gains. On Wall Street, stocks closed slightly lower after a wobbly day of trading Monday as worries about rising interest rates and high inflation weighed on sentiment despite some better-than-expected profit reports from banks. Stocks have struggled this year as the highest inflation in generations forces the Federal Reserve into a U-turn on the low-interest-rate policies that helped markets soar and the economy to rev in recent years. The price of U.S. natural gas jumped more than 7% and is close to its highest since 2008.