Asian stocks rose Wednesday, AP reported. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.2 percent to 3,416.94 and Tokyo's Nikkei 225 gained 0.5 percent to 22,523.15. Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.4 percent to 29,945.89 and Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 added 0.4 percent to 5,986.40. Seoul's Kospi climbed 0.3 percent to 2,538.44 and benchmarks in New Zealand and Southeast Asia also rose. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 83 cents to $57.66 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 41 cents on Tuesday to close at $56.83. Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained 45 cents to $63.02 in London. It advanced 35 cents the previous session to $62.57. The dollar declined to 112.16 yen from Tuesday's 112.44 yen. The euro rose to $1.1750 from $1.1739.
