Japan’s Nikkei climbed to a fresh 15-year high and was last up 0.3 percent. “Now the market is relieved again on hopes for an earlier U.S. rate hike,” said Nobuhiko Kuramochi, a strategist at Mizuho Securities, noting that a stronger U.S. economy is beneficial for Japan. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.3 percent, with many of the regions’ markets closed for the Lunar New Year holiday, including China, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea.