Shares were mostly lower in Asia on Wednesday as uncertainty over the coronavirus pandemic sapped the buying enthusiasm that has been driving prices higher. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 dropped 0.7% in afternoon trading to 22,462.77. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dipped 1.5% to 5,920.30. South Korea's Kospi shed 0.1% to 2,161.24. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.1% after fluctuating during much of the day to 25,936.04, while the Shanghai Composite bounced higher, adding 1.0% to 3,380.20, AP reported. Benchmark U.S. crude lost 16 cents to $40.46 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It slipped a penny to settle at $40.62 per barrel after earlier flipping between losses and gains on Tuesday. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 12 cents to $42.96 per barrel. The dollar inched up to 107.55 Japanese yen from 107.53 yen on Tuesday. The euro fell to $1.1269 from $1.1274.
