Asian shares declined Thursday, AP reported. Japan's Nikkei 225 slipped 1.7% to 19,914.78. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 1.4% to 5,344.30. South Korea's Kospi dropped 1.1% to 1,918.79. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dipped 1.4% to 23,837.37, while the Shanghai Composite was down 0.9% at 2,873.48. India's Sensex lost 2% to 31,367.40, while markets also fell in Southeast Asia. U.S. benchmark crude gained 31 cents to $25.60 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It fell 65 cents to $25.68 on Wednesday. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 30 cents to $29.49 a barrel. The dollar fell to 106.83 Japanese yen from 107.03 yen. The euro inched down to $1.0810 from $1.0818.
