Asian stock markets were lower Monday, AP reported. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index fell 0.7 percent to 19,152.27 and the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.3 percent to 3,244.71. Seoul's Kospi shed 0.2 percent to 2,090.20 and benchmarks in Southeast Asia also retreated. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.1 percent to 23,984.70. New Zealand gained and Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 fell 0.3 percent to 5,724.70. Benchmark U.S. crude gained 16 cents to $54.15 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 46 cents on Friday to $53.99. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 22 cents to $56.53 in London. It lost 51 cents the previous session. The dollar edged up to 112.23 yen from Friday's 112.19 yen. The euro declined to $1.0566 from $1.0562.
