Asian stock markets were higher on Monday, AP reported. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.5 percent to 23,042.54. Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 1.2 percent to 31,423.99, while Shanghai Composite Index advanced 0.8 percent to 3,217.93. South Korea's Kospi added 0.3 percent to 2,467.36. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 inched down 0.1 percent to 6,081.10. Stocks in Southeast Asia were mostly higher. Benchmark U.S. crude oil rose 55 cents to $71.83 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In the previous session, the contract finished at $71.28 a barrel, down 21 cents. Brent crude, used to price international oil, gained 50 cents to $79.01 per barrel in London. It finished at $78.51 per barrel in the previous session, down 79 cents. The dollar rose to 111.11 yen from 110.78 yen while the euro weakened to $1.175 from $1.177.
