Shares advanced across Asia on Thursday, AP reported. The Shanghai Composite index rose 0.9 percent to 3,119.72 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.2 percent to 29,371.12. South Korea's Kospi climbed 0.5 percent to 2,187.71, while Australia's S&P ASX was flat at 6,167.20. Shares were higher in Southeast Asia. The dollar dropped to 110.52 Japanese yen from 110.70 yen on Wednesday. It had been hovering above 111 yen. The euro climbed to $1.1424 from $1.1414. Benchmark U.S. oil was flat at $60.23 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude gained 9 cents to $68.59 per barrel. The rise came after the U.S. government reported that supplies of oil fell 9.6 percent last week. It also followed news that OPEC plans on maintaining deep production cuts.
