Asian shares rise, eyeing inflation, energy costs | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

Asian shares rise, eyeing inflation, energy costs | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

Asian shares were mostly higher as investors eyed inflationary risks and surging energy prices. Benchmarks rose in morning trading in Japan, South Korea, Australia and Hong Kong, but edged lower in Shanghai. Worries are over energy supplies for Europe, surging prices and progress toward economic recoveries from the pandemic. Shares ended modestly lower on Wall Street after bouncing around for much of the day and bond yields rose sharply after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank was prepared to move more aggressively if need be to contain inflation, according to The Associated Press (AP). The yield on the 10-year Treasury jumped to 2.30% from 2.14% late Friday. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 surged 1.5% to 27,215.65 in morning trading. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.1% to 7,357.90. South Korea’s Kospi edged 0.5% higher to 2,698.49. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.5% to 21,319.19, while the Shanghai Composite fell 0.1% to 3,249.54. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 fell 1.94 points to 4,461.18, snapping a four-day winning streak for the benchmark index. The Dow dropped 0.6% to 34,552.99 and the Nasdaq slid 0.4% to 13,838.46. Smaller company stocks fared worse than the broader market. The Russell 2000 index lost 1%