BANGKOK—Stocks advanced Wednesday in Asia after another broad rally on Wall Street as investors wagered that the new variant of the COVID-19 virus won’t pose a big threat to the economy. Shares rose in Paris, London, Tokyo, and Shanghai but fell in Frankfurt as Germany’s parliament elected Olaf Scholz as the country’s ninth post-World War II chancellor, opening a new era for the European Union’s largest economy after Angela Merkel’s 16-year tenure. Scholz’s government is taking office with high hopes of modernizing Germany but faces the immediate challenge of handling the country’s toughest phase yet of the coronavirus pandemic. Germany’s DAX fell 0.3 percent to 15,766.51, while the CAC 40 in Paris was flat at 7,065.10. Britain’s FTSE 100 picked up 0.4 percent to 7,365.25. The future for the Dow industrials and the S&P 500 were both up 0.2 percent. Japan downgraded its growth estimate for the last quarter to …