Asian shares were mostly higher on Thursday, AP reported. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 advanced 2.5 percent to 23,337.47. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.1 percent to 6,077.70. South Korea's Kospi lost 0.6 percent to 2,470.71. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.5 percent to 30,698.54, while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.4 percent to 3,382.91. Shares in Southeast Asia were mostly higher. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 26 cents to $61.89 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It added $1.26, or 2.1 percent, to $61.63 a barrel on Wednesday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, picked up 12 cents to $67.96 a barrel in London. The dollar rose to 112.66 yen from 112.36 yen. The euro was flat at $1.2014.
