Asian stocks were mostly lower on Thursday, AP reported. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gave up 0.7 percent to 28,305.33. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.1 percent to 6,060.50 and the Kospi in South Korea lost 0.5 percent to 2,191.42. The Shanghai Composite index eased 0.4 percent to 2,709.73. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 0.1 percent to 21,155.44. Shares rose in the Philippines but fell in Singapore. U.S. crude rose 15 cents to $54.05 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It picked up 80 cents to settle at $53.90 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained 16 cents to $63.77 per barrel. It added $1.19 close at $63.61 per barrel in London. The dollar slipped to 110.97 yen from 110.98 yen late Wednesday. The euro strengthened to $1.1277 from $1.1261.
