Asian shares edged higher on Tuesday, taking heart from fresh highs on Wall Street, while gold prices took back some lost ground after plunging more than 4 percent to five-year lows in the previous session. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was last up about 0.2 percent, after wavering between positive and negative territory for much of early trading. Japan’s Nikkei share index (.N225) rose 0.4 percent as markets reopened after a public holiday on Monday, climbing to three-week highs on growing expectations for strong first-quarter earnings.