Asian stocks were mixed on Tuesday, AP reported. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 eased 0.7% to 20,972.71 while South Korea's Kospi rose 0.4% to 2,098.71. Hong Kong's Hang Seng picked up 0.9% to 27,481.62. The Shanghai Composite index was 0.1% lower at 2,884.46. Australia's S&P ASX 200 added 0.6% to 6,570.00. Shares rose in most of Southeast Asia. Benchmark U.S. crude dropped 17 cents to $51.76 a barrel. The contract gave up 58 cents to $51.93 a barrel on Monday. Brent crude, the international standard, shed 20 cents to $60.74 a barrel. The dollar slipped to 108.27 Japanese yen from 108.53 yen. The euro strengthened to $1.1234 from $1.1220.
