Asian markets were mostly lower on Wednesday, AP reported. South Korea's Kospi gave up 1.2 percent to 2,029.65 and the Shanghai Composite index shed 0.2 percent to 2,500.13. Japan's Nikkei 225 index, which plunged 5 percent on Tuesday, picked up 0.9 percent to 19,327.06. Shares fell throughout Southeast Asia. Markets in Hong Kong and Australia were closed. Benchmark U.S. crude added 18 cents to $42.71 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract settled at $42.53 a barrel in New York on Monday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, dropped 15 cents to $50.32 a barrel. The dollar strengthened to 110.44 yen from 110.31 yen. The euro rose to $1.1408 from $1.1392.
