Asian shares rose Wednesday, AP reported. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 1.1% to 23,342.60 in afternoon trading. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.4% to 6,976.10. South Korea's Kospi was up nearly 0.2% at 2,161.06. Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged up nearly 0.1% to 26,702.28, while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.9% to 2,808.64. Benchmark crude oil rose 41 cents to $50.02 a barrel. It fell 50 cents to settle at $49.61 a barrel Tuesday. Brent crude oil, the international standard, gained 52 cents to $54.48 a barrel. The dollar rose to 109.43 Japanese yen from 109.07 yen on Tuesday. The euro weakened to $1.1036 from $1.1053.
