Asian shares edged higher Thursday, AP reported. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 0.7% in morning trading to 27,705.72. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.7% to 7,406.70. South Korea's Kospi jumped 1.7% to 2,469.63. Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged 2.1% to 21,241.94, while the Shanghai Composite added 0.7% to 3,304.77. In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude added 43 cents to $79.02 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It fell 47 cents to $78.59 on Wednesday. Brent crude, the international pricing standard, rose 38 cents to $85.76 a barrel. In currency trading, the U.S. dollar fell to 133.76 Japanese yen from 134.16 yen. The euro cost $1.0707, up from $1.0690.
