Asian shares were mostly higher in muted trading Monday, as worries about the pandemic kept optimism in check despite a rally that closed out last week on Wall Street. Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 0.3% to finish at 23,558.69. South Korea's Kospi gained 0.5% to 2,403.12. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.5% to 6,132.00. Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 2.2% to 24,654.77, while the Shanghai Composite added 2.4% to 3,350.22, AP reported. In energy trading, US. benchmark crude lost 45 cents to $40.15 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It lost 59 cents to $40.60 per barrel on Friday. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 44 cents to $42.41 a barrel. The U.S. dollar rose to 105.50 Japanese yen from 105.53 yen last Friday. The euro slipped to $1.1813, from $1.1824.