TOKYO – Asian shares mostly rose Wednesday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 30,000 points for the first time despite an ongoing pandemic, as progress in development of coronavirus vaccines kept investors in a buying mood.Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 edged up 0.5% to finish at 26,296.86.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.6% to 6,683.30. South Korea's Kospi lost early gains to decline 0.6% to 2,601.54. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.2% to 26,636.98, while the Shanghai Composite dipped 1.2% to 3,362.33.
Jingyi Pan, senior market strategist at IG in Singapore, noted news that the transition of power in the U.S. to President-elect Joe Biden will finally begin, as well as his selection of former Fed chair Janet Yellen as treasury.