Asian stock markets followed Wall Street higher on Thursday following gains for major U.S. tech stocks. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.5% to 3,451.93 and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo added 0.7% to 22,587.64. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 0.5% to 26,254.31. The Kospi in Seoul was 0.7% higher at 2,173.66 and Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 advanced 0.9% to 5,974.40. New Zealand and Singapore retreated while Jakarta rose, AP reported. Benchmark U.S. crude lost 7 cents to $40.85 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 28 cents on Wednesday to settle at $40.90. Brent crude, the international price benchmark, shed 1 cent to $43.28 per barrel in London. It added 21 cents the previous session to $43.29. The dollar edged down to 107.29 yen from Wednesday's 107.31 yen. The euro was little-changed at $1.1360.
