Asian stocks were mostly lower on Thursday, AP reported. Japan's Nikkei 225 index was almost flat at 20,774.04 and the Shanghai Composite index lost 1% to 2,831.75. The benchmark in Shenzhen, a smaller, more domestic-oriented market, tumbled 2% to 1,464.71. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.1% to 26,868.67 while Australia's S&P ASX 200 advanced 0.4% to 6,383.00. Shares fell in Singapore but rose in Thailand. South Korean markets were closed for a holiday. Benchmark U.S. crude picked up 17 cents to $51.85 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It gave up $1.80 to settle at $51.68 a barrel on Wednesday. Brent crude oil, the international standard, added 27 cents to $60.90 per barrel. The contract shed $1.34 to $60.63 per barrel in the previous session. The dollar retreated to 108.08 Japanese yen from 108.46 yen late Wednesday. The euro strengthened to $1.1223 from $1.1221. _
