Asian Shares Mostly Higher On Growth Optimism CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stocks rose broadly on Wednesday, as optimism for strong earnings growth and expectations of continued support from central banks offset renewed concerns about the rapid spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus. Chinese shares advanced after the latest survey from Caixin showed the services sector in the country expanded at a faster rate in July with a services PMI score of 54.9, up from 50.3 in June. The survey also said its composite index improved to 53.1 from 50.6 in June. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index ended up 29.23 points, or 0.85 percent, at 3,477.22.