TOKYO, Jumada I 4, 1438, Feb 1, 2017, SPA -- Shares were mostly higher in Asia on Wednesday, lifted by upbeat manufacturing data from China and Japan, AP reported. The U.S. dollar was steady. The Kospi in South Korea jumped 0.6 percent to 2,080.48. Australia's S&P ASX 200 gained 0.6 percent to 5,653.20. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.4 percent to 23,277.72. The Sensex in India edged 0.1 percent lower to 27,639.29. Shares in Southeast Asia were mostly higher. Markets in China were closed for the lunar new year holiday. Investors have been bidding up assets that are traditionally seen as less risky, including gold, government bonds, and stocks that pay big dividends. On Tuesday, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.5 percent to 19,864.09 and the S&P 500 edged 0.1 percent lower, to 2,278.87. The Nasdaq was nearly flat at 5,614.79. After the market closed, Apple reported a bigger profit and greater sales than analysts expected as iPhone sales bounced back from a recent slump. The tech giant's stock rose 3.0 percent in after-hours trading. U.S. crude oil fell 11 cents to $52.70 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It gained 18 cents to $52.81 a barrel on Tuesday. Brent crude, the benchmark for international oil prices, lost 14 cents to $55.44 a barrel. --SPA 10:27 LOCAL TIME 07:27 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w323487