Asian shares gain after earnings-fueled rally on Wall Street

BANGKOK — Asian shares advanced on Wednesday after solid earnings pushed retailers higher on Wall Street ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S.

New Zealand’s share benchmark fell 0.9% after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand raised its benchmark rate by three-quarters of a point to 4.25%, striving to rein in inflation that is now at 7.2%.

It’s the first time the bank has raised rates by more than a half-point since introducing the Official Cash Rate in 1999. The new rate is the highest in New Zealand since early 2009.

Markets were closed in Japan for a holiday.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index surged 0.9% to 17,600.93 and the Kospi in Seoul rose 0.5% to 2,417.97. In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.7% to 7,231.80.

The Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.2% to 3,082.95. Shares rose in Southeast Asia.

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 rose 1.4% to 4,003.58 and the Dow Jones Industrial…