Asian stock markets declined Tuesday after Wall Street rose as a wave of investor concern about possible higher interest rates receded. The Shanghai Composite Index lost 1.5% to 3,497.78 and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo declined 0.9% to 29,384.85. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong declined 1.5% to 29,020.46. The Kospi in Seoul advanced 0.4% to 3,024.16 after the government reported factory production increased by a better-than-forecast 7.5% in January over a year earlier, up from December's 2.5%. The S&P-ASX 200 in Sydney was off 0.4% at 6,762.30. India's Sensex opened up 0.4% at 50,021.56. New Zealand and Southeast Asian markets rose, the Associated Press reported. In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude fell 79 cents to $59.85 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract sank 86 cents to $60.64 on Monday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, retreated 81 cents to $62.88 per barrel in London. It declined 73 cents the previous session to $63.69 per barrel. The dollar advanced to 106.85 yen from Monday's 106.81 yen. The euro fell to $1.2021 from $1.2047.
