Major Asian stock markets rose on Wednesday, AP reported. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.3% to 2,814.70 and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo gained 1.9% to 17,342.71. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.5% to 23,384.51. The Kospi in Seoul gained 0.5% to 1,682.12 in early trading. Australia's S&P-ASX 200 fell 5% to 5,029.70. Market benchmarks in New Zealand and Singapore rose 2% while Manila fell 7.9%, reopening after it was closed on Tuesday. Bangkok surged 2%. In other trading, U.S. benchmark crude gained 4 cents to $26.99 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It lost $1.75 to $26.95 on Tuesday. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 28 cents to $29.01 per barrel. The dollar was trading at 107.17 Japanese yen, down from 107.67 late Tuesday. The euro was at $1.1021, up from $1.10999.
