Shares were mixed in Asia on Thursday, AP reported. The Nikkei 225 index gained 0.4% to 22,044.45 while the Kospi in Seoul climbed 0.4% to 2,078.24. Australia's S&P ASX 200 added 0.4% to 6,711.30, while the Shanghai Composite index edged up 0.1% to 2,988.32. Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 1.1% to 26,467.35 and shares also fell in Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia. Benchmark U.S. crude gained 19 cents to $58.30 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Overnight, it lost $1.23 to settle at $58.11 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, picked up 11 cents to $63.71. The dollar slipped to 107.95 Japanese yen from 108.42 yen on Wednesday. The euro rose to $1.1046 from $1.1029.
