Asian stocks were mixed Thursday, AP Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.5 percent to 19,347.53 while South Korea's Kospi edged down 0.1 percent to 2,081.84. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 0.5 percent to 24,116.40 and Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.4 percent to 3,227.27. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 inched up 0.1 percent to 5,816.30. Stocks in Indonesia were lower but in Singapore and the Philippines they were higher. The dollar fell to 113.95 yen from 114.02 while the euro weakened to $1.0610 from $1.0615. Benchmark U.S. crude fell 8 cents to $53.03 per barrel. The contract finished 9 cents lower at $53.11 a barrel on Wednesday. Brent crude, the international standard, was down 9 cents at $55.66 a barrel in London.
