Asian stock markets were mixed Thursday, AP reported. Shanghai and Seoul advanced while Tokyo and Hong Kong declined. The Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.1% to 2,908.60 while Tokyo's Nikkei 225 lost 0.7% to 23,164.44. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.9% to 26,352.24. Seoul's Kospi edged up 0.3% to 2,128.00 while Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 gained 0.6% to 6,735.10. India's Sensex opened up 0.5% at 40,310.09. Southeast Asian markets declined while New Zealand advanced. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 45 cents to $57.56 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract gained 32 cents on Wednesday to close at $57.12. Brent crude, used to price international oils, advanced 43 cents to $62.80 per barrel in London. It gained 29 cents the previous session to $62.37. The dollar declined to 108.73 yen from Wednesday's 108.84 yen. The euro declined to $1.1006 from $1.1007.
