Asian stock markets rose Thursday, AP reported. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 2.3 percent to 2,841.72 and Tokyo's Nikkei 225 advanced 1.2 percent to 22,206.96. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 1 percent to 28,595.74 and Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 was 0.9 percent higher at 6,274.00. India's Sensex added 0.8 percent to 36,536.09 and Seoul's Kospi rose 0.6 percent to 2,294.86. Benchmarks in Southeast Asia also advanced. Benchmark U.S. crude gained 48 cents to $70.86 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract plunged $3.27 on Wednesday to close at $70.38. Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained $1.18 to $75.58 per barrel in London. It lost $5.36 the previous session to $73.40. The dollar gained to 112.27 yen from Wednesday's 111.99 yen. The euro edged up to $1.1675 from $1.1673.
