Asian shares slipped Thursday after sobriety set in on Wall Street, and the U.S. Federal Reserve minutes laid out challenges for the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 dropped 1.0% to finish at 22,880.62. South Korea's Kospi plunged 3.8% to 2,272.08. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.8% to 6,120.00. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 1.9% to 24,714.19, while the Shanghai Composite fell 1.1% at 3,370.85, AP reported. Benchmark U.S. crude lost 44 cents to $42.49 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rose 4 cents to $42.93 per barrel Wednesday. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 38 cents to $44.99 a barrel. The U.S. dollar was flat at 106.13 yen. The euro cost $1.1837, down from $1.1934.
