Asian stock markets retreated Friday. Market benchmarks in Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul and Sydney all declined. Major Asian markets jumped more than 2% on Thursday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.6% to 27,320.42 and the Shanghai Composite Index was off 0.2% at 2,861.72. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 lost 0.2% to 23,827.98. The Kospi in Seoul sank 0.7% to 2,211.95 and Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 lost 0.4% to 7,022.60, AP reported. Benchmark U.S. crude gained 27 cents to $51.22 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 20 cents on Thursday to close at $50.95. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 34 cents to $55.27 per barrel in London. It fell 35 cents the previous session to $54.93. The dollar declined to 109.95 yen from Thursday's 109.97 yen. The euro rose to $1.0982 from $1.0979.
