Asian shares mostly slipped Wednesday, as worries lingered about the coronavirus omicron variant's potential damage to the regional economy following mixed cues from Wall Street, the Associated Press reported. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 0.6% to finish at 28,906.88. South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.9% to 2,993.29, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 jumped 1.2% to 7,509.80. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 1.1% to 23,033.49, and the Shanghai Composite shed 0.9% to 3,597.00. In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude lost 8 cents to $76.05 a barrel from $75.98. Brent crude, the international standard, added 13 cents to $79.07 a barrel. In currency trading, the U.S. dollar fell to 114.90 Japanese yen from 114.81 yen. The euro cost $1.1303, down from $1.1313.
