Asian shares were mostly higher Wednesday as regional markets looked to strong economic signs out of the U.S. and China as drivers of growth, the Associated Press reported. Benchmarks rose in morning trading in Japan, China and Australia, although shares dipped slightly in South Korea. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.8% in morning trading to 29,101.33. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose nearly 0.1% to 7,109.50. South Korea's Kospi lost 0.5% to 2,521.84. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.5% to 19,932.34, while the Shanghai Composite edged up 0.2% to 3,284.14. In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude rose 43 cents to $86.96 a barrel. U.S. crude oil prices fell 3.2% Tuesday. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 31 cents to $92.65 a barrel. In currency trading, the U.S. dollar edged down to 134.08 Japanese yen from 134.22 yen. The euro cost $1.0170, virtually unchanged from $1.0171.
