Shares rose Thursday in Asia, AP reported. Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 1.2% to 28,539.74 while the Shanghai Composite index added 0.3% to 2,924.85. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.5% to 21,638.58 while South Korea's Kospi advanced 1.2% to 2,083.79. Australia's S&P ASX 200 gained 0.3% to 6,717.70. Shares also rose in Southeast Asia. Benchmark U.S. crude oil picked up 22 cents to $60.65 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Wednesday, it jumped $2.60 to settle at $60.43 a barrel, the highest level since late May. Brent crude oil, the international standard, added 15 cents to $67.16 per barrel. Overnight, it gained $2.85 to close at $67.01 a barrel. The dollar rose to 107.92 Japanese yen from 108.45 yen on Wednesday. The euro strengthened to $1.1277 from $1.1250.
