Shares were mostly higher in Asia on Wednesday, AP reported. Japan's Nikkei 225 stock index edged 0.1 percent higher to 20,021.49 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong climbed 0.5 percent to 26,648.35. The S&P ASX 200 in Australia jumped 0.6 percent to 5,720.90 while the Shanghai Composite index added 0.5 percent to 3,204.33. South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.2 percent to 2,422.07. Shares in Southeast Asia were mixed. The dollar, which has steadily lost ground most of this year, was trading at 112.00 yen on Wednesday, down from 112.07 late Tuesday. The euro rose to $1.1544 from $1.1543. It hasn't been this strong compared to the dollar since early 2015. Benchmark U.S. crude added lost 5 cents to $46.35 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It gained 38 cents to $46.40 a barrel on Tuesday. Brent crude, the international standard, slipped 6 cents to $48.78 per barrel. It rose 42 cents to $48.84 a barrel in London.
