Asia shares trading mixed, China markets closed for holidays

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mixed Wednesday after Wall Street indexes finished little changed as investors awaited earnings results from major global companies.

Shares rose in Tokyo and Seoul, but fell in Sydney and Mumbai. Markets were closed in Hong Kong and Shanghai for Lunar New Year holidays.

Australia reported higher than expected inflation figures, setting off expectations for another interest rate hike. Consumer inflation rose 8.4% in December, higher than the forecast of 7.6%. It anchored expectations for another 25 basis-point raise from the Reserve Bank of Australia in February, said Yeap Jun Rong, market analyst at IG .

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 0.4% in afternoon trading to 27,395.01. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.3% to 7,468.30, while South Korea's Kospi jumped 1.4% to 2,428.62. The Sensex in Mumbai lost 1.1%.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 slipped less than 0.1% to 4,016.95, its second loss in three trading days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% to 33,733.96 and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.3% to 11,334.27. Small company stocks also lost ground, with the Russell 2000 shedding 0.3% to finish at 1,885.61.

Stocks have been volatile as investors try to get a better sense of how inflation is affecting the economy, the potential for a recession and whether the Federal Reserve can ease up on its aggressive interest rate increases.

The latest batch of earnings show that companies continue to struggle with the effects of inflation on consumers and supply chains.

Post-it notes and industrial coatings maker 3M fell 6.2% for the biggest drop among S&P 500 stocks after reporting weak fourth-quarter earnings and announcing job cuts. It is the latest company to announce layoffs as consumers get squeezed by inflation and worries grow...