Asian shares were mostly higher Thursday, AP reported. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 2.3% to 21,118.15 in afternoon trading. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.9% to 6,613.20, while South Korea's Kospi gained nearly 1.0% to 2,007.43. Hong Kong's Hang Seng erased earlier gains and was down 0.8% at 26,304.96, while the Shanghai Composite rose 1.2% to 2,992.34. Benchmark crude oil edged down 15 cents to $56.11 a barrel. It rose $2.32 to settle at $56.26 a barrel Wednesday. Brent crude oil, the international standard, fell 8 cents to $60.62 a barrel. The dollar rose to 106.56 Japanese yen from 106.21 yen on Wednesday. The euro strengthened to $1.1028 from $1.1009.
