Shares were mostly lower in Asia on Wednesday after pandemic concerns snapped a four-day winning streak on Wall Street. Japan's Nikkei 225 erased early losses to gain 0.1% to 23,626.73, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gave up 0.1% to 24,630.09. South Korea's Kospi lost 0.9% to 2,380.64 and the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia declined 0.3% to 6,179.20. The Shanghai Composite index shed 0.5% to 3,341.74, AP reported. Benchmark U.S. crude oil lost 16 cents to $40.04 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It gained 77 cents to $40.20 per barrel on Tuesday. Brent crude, the international standard, shed 14 cents to $42.31. The U.S. dollar weakened to 105.45 Japanese yen from 105.47 yen. The euro slipped to $1.1745 from $1.1748.