Stock market today: Asian shares advance after another round of Wall St records

Asian shares are mostly higher after U.S. stocks rallied to records on hopes that inflation is heading back in the right direction. Tokyo gained 1.4% even after the government reported that the Japanese economy contracted at a 2% annual rate in the January-March quarter. On Wednesday, the S&P 500 jumped 1.2% to top its prior all-time high set in March. The Nasdaq composite added 1.4% to its own record set a day earlier, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.9% to beat its prior high. Treasury yields also eased after a report showing a slowdown in inflation boosted expectations for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates this year.