Asian stock benchmarks were mostly lower on Wednesday, AP reported. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.5 percent to 19,814.88 and South Korea's Kospi dipped 0.1 percent to 2,292.16. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slipped 0.2 percent to 25,295.01. Shanghai Composite Index edged down 0.2 percent to 3,106.17. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 sank 1.1 percent to 5,786.00. Benchmark U.S. crude fell 24 cents to $48.42 per barrel on New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract slipped 19 cents to close at $48.66 a barrel on Tuesday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, dropped 27 cents to $51.38 per barrel in London. It lost 17 cents to settle at $51.65 a barrel in London. In currency trading, the dollar fell to 112.34 yen from 113.11 yen. The euro gained to $1.1110 from $1.1085.
