Shares were higher in Asia on Wednesday, AP reported. Japan's Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.2 percent to 21,970.81 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 1.5 percent to 31,327.37. Australia's S&P ASX 200 edged 0.1 percent higher to 5,943.70 and the Kospi in South Korea added 0.6 percent to 2,429.65. Shares in Southeast Asia were mixed. Markets in mainland China were closed for a final day of lunar new Benchmark U.S. crude fell 59 cents to $61.20 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rose 24 cents to settle at $61.79 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, shed 48 cents to $64.77 per barrel. It gained 42 cents to close at $65.25 a barrel in London. The dollar rose to 107.76 yen from 107.33 yen on Tuesday. The euro slipped to $1.2329 from $1.2337.
