Share prices rose in Europe and Asia on Thursday, AP reported. Germany's DAX slipped 0.1 percent to 12,234.80 and the CAC 40 of France edged 0.1 percent higher to 5,194.25. Britain's FTSE was flat at 7,154.64. S&P 500 futures were flat at 2,722.70 and Dow futures fell 0.1 percent to 24,964.00, pointing to a downbeat start on Wall Street. Japan's Nikkei 225 index edged 0.1 percent higher to 21,368.07 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 1.5 percent to 30,654.52. Australia's S&P ASX 200 surged 0.7 percent to 5,942.90 and the Kospi in South Korea gained 1.3 percent to 2,433.08. The Shanghai Composite index climbed 0.5 percent to 3,288.41, while India's Sensex added 0.5 percent to 33,182.66. Shares also were higher in Southeast Asia. Benchmark U.S. crude gained 11 cents to $61.26 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It dropped $1.45, or 2.3 percent, to $61.15 a barrel on Wednesday after the Energy Department reported that U.S. oil production rose last week. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 8 cents to $64.42 per barrel. It fell $1.45, or 2.2 percent, to $64.34 a barrel in London. The dollar dipped to 105.97 yen from 106.08 yen late Wednesday. The euro edged down to $1.2408 from $1.2411.
