Shares in Asia fell Wednesday, AP reported. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index lost 0.9 percent to 22,419.88 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong slumped 1.6 percent to 28,389.35. The Shanghai Composite index skidded 0.7 percent to 3,279.59 while South Korea's Kospi dropped 0.6 percent to 2,494.68. The S&P ASX 200 in Australia fell 0.4 percent to 5,951.10. Shares were mostly lower in Southeast Asia. The dollar slipped to 112.23 Japanese yen from 112.60 yen late Tuesday. The euro rose to $1.1831 from $1.1825, and the British pound fell to $1.3442 from $1.3444. Benchmark U.S. crude gave up 24 cents to $57.38 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rose 15 cents to settle at $57.62 per barrel on Tuesday. Brent crude, the international standard, shed 24 cents to $62.62 a barrel in London.
