Asian shares were mixed Wednesday, AP reported. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 0.2% to 20,543.35 in afternoon trading. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.7% to 6,521.40. South Korea' Kospi slipped 0.2% to 1,914.65. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dipped nearly 0.1% to 25,955.27, while the Shanghai Composite added 0.2% to 2,782.63. Benchmark crude oil gained 3 cents to $53.66 a barrel. It fell $1.06 to $53.63 a barrel on Tuesday. Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 2 cents to $58.96 a barrel. The dollar fell to 106.27 Japanese yen from 106.40 yen on Tuesday. The euro rose to $1.1204 from $1.1199.
