Uncertainty continues to hang over the latest round of financial results and forecasts for companies both big and small as they try to navigate a global trade system severely shaken by a stark shift in U.S. policy.

Shares are mostly lower in Asia after a mixed session on Wall Street, where tech sector losses offset gains in other parts of the market.

Plans to pump money into rebuilding the nation’s roads, bridges and other infrastructure could give companies that make machinery and materials a solid foundation for growth.

The Florida Department of Health issued an alert to be on the lookout for hairy caterpillars.

FILE - In this Sept. 18, 2019, photo a Puckett Machinery Company technician walks past a new heavy duty Caterpillar excavator that awaits modification at Puckett Machinery Company in Flowood, Miss. The Deerfield, Illinois, company reported a profit Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020, of $1.22 per share. Sales were $11.24 billion, down significantly from last year's $13.14 billion, yet far better than Wall Street projections of $11.18 billion, according to a survey of analysts by Zacks Investment Research. That is still well below the $1.1 billion, or $1.97 per share, that the company earned in the prior year. The Commerce Department reported Thursday that the U.S. economy shrank in 2020 by the largest amount in 74 years, and the Labor Department reported that 847,000 Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week.

People wearing face masks walk past a bank's electronic board showing the Hong Kong share index in Hong Kong, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020. Asian shares headed lower Wednesday on worries about rising virus counts and Washington's inability to deliver more aid to the economy. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)Asian shares headed lower Wednesday on worries about rising virus counts and Washington's inability to deliver more aid to the economy. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 0.3% in morning trading to 23,420.93, while South Korea's Kospi declined 0.2% to 2,325.22. The U.S. dollar weakened to 104.30 Japanese yen from 104.41 yen late Tuesday.