Asian shares rose Wednesday, the Associated Press reported. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 2.2% in afternoon trading to 27,457.55. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.1% to 7,284.90. South Korea's Kospi surged 1.9% to 2,727.39. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 1.2% to 24,635.41, while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.6% to 3,466.14. In energy trading, U.S. benchmark crude edged up 23 cents to $92.30 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It slumped 3.6% Tuesday. Brent crude, the international standard, added 20 cents to $93.48 a barrel. In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 115.68 Japanese yen from 115.63 yen. The euro cost $1.1358, down from $1.1362.
