Asian shares firm, euro languishes on ECB easing hopes

TOKYO: Asian shares inched higher on Tuesday as investors increasingly expect the European Central Bank to expand liquidity as soon as next week to boost the sagging euro zone economy - just as the U.S. Federal Reserve plans to end its bond-buying drive.

The euro slipped to a one-year low against the dollar as comments from ECB chief Mario Draghi late last week that the central bank was prepared to respond with all its "available" tools resonated in the market.