Asian shares were mostly higher ahead of Joe Biden's inauguration as U.S. president Wednesday, though worries about surging coronavirus cases sapped the Japanese market's early gains. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.4% to finish at 28,523.26. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.4% to 6,770.40, while South Korea's Kospi edged up 0.6% to 3,112.03. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.7% to 29,835.04, while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.1% to 3,570.40, the Associated Press reported. In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude added 31 cents to $53.29 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 35 cents to $56.25. In currency trading, the U.S. dollar slipped to 103.74 Japanese yen from 103.99 yen. The dollar cost $1.2146, up from $1.2115.
