Asian shares were mixed Thursday, AP reported. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 0.7% to 23,300.09, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 1.2% to 6,683.00. South Korea's Kospi fell 0.4% to 2,061.04. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 0.4% at 26,164.62, while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.6% to 2,895.77. Benchmark U.S. crude lost 22 cents to $58.21 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It climbed $2.33, or 4.2%, to $58.43 per barrel on Wednesday, as members of OPEC prepared to meet later this week and vote on production levels. Brent crude, the international standard, slipped 10 cents to $62.90. The dollar rose to 108.79 Japanese yen from 108.68 yen Wednesday. The euro weakened slightly to $1.1085 from $1.1088.
