Asia shares mostly higher after US holiday; BOJ stands pat

By YURI KAGEYAMA
AP Business Writer

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares are mostly higher in the absence of big market-moving news following a national holiday in the U.S. The Bank of Japan wrapped up a two-day policy meeting with no major changes. Benchmarks in Japan, China and Australia rose in early trading, but shares fell in South Korea. U.S. futures edged higher. U.S. markets were closed Monday for Martin Luther King Day. Japan’s central bank’s super-easy monetary policy was expected to stay unchanged for the time being, as the nation grapples with surging cases of COVID infections set off by the omicron variant.