Asian markets were mostly higher on Thursday, AP reported. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rallied 1.8 percent to 22,486.92. South Korea's Kospi rose 1.3 percent to 2,106.42. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.8 percent to 26,348.12 while the Shanghai Composite was down 0.1 percent at 2,638.82. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.5 percent higher to 5,928.20. Shares were higher in Singapore and Indonesia but fell in the Philippines. Benchmark U.S. crude oil gained 8 cents to $61.75 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It fell 54 cents to $61.67 a barrel in New York. Brent crude was flat at $72.07. The dollar rose to 113.61 yen from 113.57 yen late Wednesday. The euro strengthened to $1.1434 from $1.1426.
