Asian stocks follow Wall St higher with China, Korea closed

By JOE McDONALD
AP Business Writer

BEIJING (AP) — Stock prices in Tokyo and Sydney have followed Wall Street higher while China, South Korea and Southeast Asian markets were closed for the Lunar New Year. New Zealand and Jakarta also gained. Oil prices rose. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index gained 0.7%, boosted by gains for energy and tech stocks in a late burst of buying. U.S. stocks are coming off their worst month since early in the pandemic nearly two years ago. Investors are trying to figure out how the economy and corporate profits will be affected by upcoming Federal Reserve rate hikes, intended to cool inflation that has surged to a four-decade high.