Asian stock markets were mixed Thursday after the Federal Reserve indicated it might ease off economic stimulus earlier than previously thought. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo lost 1.1% to 28,958.46 while the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.2% to 3,524.31. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.3% to 28,516.97. The Kospi in Seoul sank 0.4% to 3,264.14 and India's Sensex opened down 0.2% at 52,398.65. Australia's S&P-ASX 200 shed 0.4% to 7,370.20 after the government reported employment rose by 115,200 in May, up 8.1% from its low a year earlier. New Zealand and Jakarta declined while Singapore and Bangkok advanced, the Associated Press reported. In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude lost 41 cents to $71.74 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 3 cents on Wednesday to $72.15. Brent crude, the price basis for international oils, shed 43 cents to $73.96 per barrel in London. It gained 40 cents the previous session to $74.39. The dollar gained to 110.67 Japanese yen from Wednesday's 110.50 yen. The euro fell to $1.1999 from $1.2016.
