Asian stocks fell Friday, AP reported. Japan's Nikkei 225 lost 0.9 percent to 22,500.45 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index edged down 0.2 percent to 29,257.41. Shanghai Composite Index added 0.2 percent to 2,881.13 but it was still more than 5 percent lower than the start of the week. South Korea's Kospi rose 0.3 percent to 2,344.55 after losing more than 3 percent this week. Australia's S&P-ASX 200 was flat at 6,229.30. Stocks in Singapore and Southeast Asian countries were lower. Benchmark U.S. crude gained 95 cents to $66.49 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Thursday, it dropped 0.3 percent to $65.54 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the international standard for oil prices, rose 96 cents to $74.01 per barrel in London. It lost 2.3 percent to $73.05 a barrel on Thursday. The dollar rose to 110.00 yen from 109.99 yen while the euro strengthened to $1.161 from 1.160.
