Asian stocks markets logged moderate gains on Wednesday, AP reported. Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 0.2 percent to 19,875.34 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.8 percent to 25,088.27. China's Shanghai Composite index climbed 0.3 percent to 3,088.63. But South Korea's Kospi fell 1.0 percent to 2,269.34. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.7 percent to 5,883.00. Benchmark U.S. crude added 30 cents to $46.18 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 55 cents to settle at $45.88 per barrel on Tuesday. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 30 cents to $49.03. It fell 61 cents to close at $48.73 per barrel in London. The euro strengthened to $1.0897 from $1.0876 while the dollar fell to 113.68 Japanese yen from 113.99 yen.
