Asian stocks were mostly higher Wednesday, AP reported. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.8 percent to 3,128.61 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.2 percent to 26,043. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 lost 0.2 percent to 19,937.09 and Seoul's Kospi was off 0.1 percent at 2,366.34. Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 advanced 0.1 percent to 5,671.00 and benchmarks in Southeast Asia also gained. Benchmark U.S. crude retreated 8 cents to $48.11 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract jumped 79 cents on Tuesday to close at $48.19. Brent crude, used to price international oils, shed 7 cents to $50.05 in London. It rose 65 cents in the previous session to $50.12. The dollar gained to 109.50 yen from Tuesday's 109.39 yen. The euro declined to $1.1266 from $1.1278. The dollar hit a seven-week low against the yen on Wednesday, according to Reuters. The dollar has lost more than 1 percent versus the safe-haven Japanese currency so far this week. On Wednesday the greenback fell 0.2 percent to 109.22 yen , its weakest since April 21. Against a basket of currencies, the dollar steadied at 96.649, close to a seven-month low of 96.517 hit the previous day. The euro edged down 0.2 percent to $1.1256 after data showed German industrial orders dropped far more than expected in April. The single currency hit a seven-month high of $1.1285 last week.
