Asian shares rose in trading Wednesday, AP reported. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.5 percent in early trading Wednesday to 21,564.75. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.4 percent to 6,150.30. South Korea's Kospi edged up 0.2 percent to 2,231.70. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.8 percent to 29,002.90, while the Shanghai Composite index gained 1.7 percent to 2,992.57. U.S. benchmark crude added 55 cents to $56.05 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was essentially flat at $55.50 a barrel in New York overnight. Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained 43 cents to $65.79 a barrel. The dollar was flat at 110.58 yen. The euro fell to $1.1379 from $1.1388 on Tuesday.
