Asian stocks were mixed on Thursday, AP reported. Investors shrugged off a report Thursday of weak machinery orders in Japan a day after growth data came in lower than expected, with the Nikkei 225 index jumping 0.7 percent by midday to 22,868.77. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was almost unchanged at 31,097.96 and the Kospi in South Korea was flat, at 2,458.90. Australia's S&P ASX 200 dipped 0.3 percent to 6,088.40 and the Shanghai Composite index fell 0.2 percent to 3,162.23. Shares were mixed in Southeast Asia. Benchmark U.S. crude oil added 26 cents to $71.75 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Wednesday, it finished at $71.49 a barrel, up 18 cents. Brent crude, used to price international oil, gained 8 cents to $79.36 per barrel in London. It rose 85 cents to close at $79.28 a barrel in the previous session. The dollar fell to 110.18 yen from 110.39 yen while the euro strengthened to $1.1827 from $1.1809.
