Shares rose in Asia on Thursday, AP reported. Japan's Nikkei 225 index gained 0.4 percent to 18,511.52 and the Kospi in South Korea rose 0.5 percent to 2,148.33. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index climbed 0.4 percent to 23,921.39 and Australia's S&P ASX 200 advanced 0.3 percent to 5,818.70. The Shanghai Composite index lost 0.1 percent to 3,168.53 and Southeast Asian benchmarks were higher. Benchmark U.S. crude gained 14 cents to $50.99 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It lost $1.97, or 3.8 percent overnight, to $50.44 a barrel. Brent crude, used to price international oils, jumped 20 cents to $53.13 a barrel. It fell $1.96, or 3.6 percent, to $52.93 per barrel in London. The dollar rose to 108.99 yen from 108.86 yen. The euro rose to $1.0721 from $1.0712.
