Asian stocks gained Monday, AP reported. The Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.7% to 2,793.50 points while Hong Kong's Hang Seng was little-changed at 25,919.68. Seoul's Kospi added 0.4% to 1,945.82 and Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 was down 0.2% 6,568.60. New Zealand was unchanged. Markets in India, Singapore and Thailand were closed for holidays. Benchmark U.S. crude lost 28 cents per barrel to $54.22 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.94 on Friday to close at $54.40. Brent crude, used to price international oils, shed 27 cents to $58.26 per barrel in London. It gained $1.15 the previous session to $58.53. The dollar edged down to 105.47 yen from Friday's 105.66 yen. The euro gained to $1.1208 from $1.1201.
