Shares retreated in Asia on Thursday as investors mulled figures showing China's economy returned to growth in the last quarter. The Shanghai Composite index led Thursday's declines, dropping 2.9% to 3,262.41. Benchmarks also fell in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney, AP reported. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 lost 0.8% to 22,770.36, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong fell 1.3% to 25,145.89. In South Korea, the Kospi shed 0.7% to 2,187.49. In other trading, benchmark U.S. crude oil shed 32 cents to $40.88 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rose 91 cents to settle at $41.20 per barrel on Wednesday. Brent oil, the international standard, gave up 24 cents to $43.55 per barrel. It picked up 89 cents to settle at $43.79 per barrel overnight. The dollar bought 106.90 Japanese yen, down from 106.96 yen late Wednesday. The euro was trading at $1.1404, weakening from $1.1411.
