Asian markets were mostly lower on Wednesday, AP reported. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.4 percent to 22,251.36 and South Korea's Kospi fell 0.1 percent to 2,348.97. China's Shanghai Composite Index retreated 0.5 percent to 2,831.66. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.5 percent to 28,735.71. Australia's S&P-ASX 200 fell less than 0.1 percent to 6,195.30. Stocks in Singapore and other Southeast Asian markets were higher. Benchmark U.S. crude gained 36 cents to $70.89 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract added 3.6 percent to finish at $70.53 a barrel in New York on Tuesday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 24 cents to $76.38 per barrel in London. It rose 2.1 percent to settle at $76.14 per barrel in the previous session. The dollar fell to 109.91 yen from 110.03 yen. The euro gained to $1.1660 from $1.1646.
