Asian stocks advanced Thursday, AP reported. Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 1.2% to 21,338.17 and the Kospi in South Korea climbed 0.6% to 2,133.53. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 1% at 28,514.97. The Shanghai Composite jumped 0.5% to 2,990.77 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.3% to 6,658.20. Shares rose throughout Southeast Asia. Benchmark U.S. crude lost 26 cents to $59.12 a barrel. It picked up $1.55 to settle at $59.38 a barrel on Wednesday. Brent crude oil, the international standard, shed 28 cents to $65.41 a barrel. The contract gained $1.41 to $65.69 a barrel in the previous session. The dollar rose to 108.09 yen from 107.79 yen late Wednesday. The euro weakened to $1.1356 from $1.1371.
