Shares were lower Wednesday in Asia, AP reported. Japan's Nikkei 225 index lost 0.4 percent to 23,868.34 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 0.1 percent to 31,870.40. The Kospi in South Korea shed 0.3 percent to 2,513.43 while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.5 percent to 6,015.80. The Shanghai Composite index added 0.2 percent to 3,443.44 and shares in Southeast Asia were mostly lower. Benchmark U.S. crude picked up 3 cents to $63.76 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It fell 57 cents to $63.73 per barrel on Tuesday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, lost 10 cents to $69.05. The dollar rose to 110.83 yen from 110.49 yen on Tuesday. The euro weakened to $1.2223 from $1.2258.
