Asian shares mostly higher after tepid gains on Wall Street

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares reversed course to finish mostly higher Friday as investors eyed the war in Ukraine and what the world's central banks might do to keep inflation in check.

Benchmarks fell in morning trading but rose later in the afternoon in Tokyo, Seoul and Sydney. In China, shares fell in Hong Kong but rose in Shanghai.

Investors have been weighing the latest updates from the U.S. Federal Reserve amid concerns about rising inflation. The Fed has signaled it is prepared to keep raising interest rates and reducing its stockpile of bonds and mortgage-backed securities in order to rein in the highest inflation in 40 years.

“Global appetite for risk in the short-term is still uncertain, with hawkish central banks weighing on sentiment. The situation between Ukraine and Russia continues to be a headwind, with markets now only looking for a major breakthrough to adjust current pricing,” Anderson Alves at ActivTrades said in a commentary.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 declined in morning trading but finished 0.4% higher at 26,985.80. South Korea's Kospi rose 0.2% to 2,700.19. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.5% to 7,478.00. Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.4% to 21,726.57, while the Shanghai Composite recouped earlier losses to rise 0.3% to 3,246.91.

On Wall Street, a late-afternoon rebound was led by technology companies. The S&P 500 rose 0.4% to 4,500.21, its first gain after a two-day slump. The benchmark index is still on pace for its first weekly loss in four weeks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3% to 34,583.57. The Nasdaq composite added 0.1% to 13,897.30.

“The market is certainly having to digest a Fed that appears to be willing to be very aggressive in battling inflation,” said Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth...