Asian shares were mostly higher Wednesday, AP reported. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 1.2% to 22,476.70, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.2% to 6,729.50. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was unchanged at 26,505.95, while the Shanghai Composite index lost 0.3% to 2,982.74. South Korea's Kospi added 0.6% to 2,077.88 after the Bank of Korea announced it was cutting its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point, to a record-low 1.25%. Shares also rose in most of Southeast Asia. India's Sensex added 0.1%. Benchmark crude oil rose 12 cents to $52.93 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It fell 78 cents to $52.81 a barrel Tuesday. Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 14 cents to $58.88 a barrel. The dollar fell to 108.66 Japanese yen from 108.85 yen on Tuesday. The euro strengthened to $1.1031 from $1.1029.
