Stocks were mostly higher Wednesday in Asia after a rally on Wall Street spurred by news that inflation in the U.S. cooled more than expected last month, the AP reported. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 advanced 0.7% to 28,156.21 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 0.6% to 19,722.16. South Korea's Kospi was up 1.1% to 2,399.25. The Shanghai Composite index edged 0.1% lower to 3,172.33. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.7% to 7,251.30. India's Sensex gained 0.7% while the SET in Bangkok added 0.6%. In other trading, U.S. benchmark crude lost 30 cents to $75.09 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It jumped $2.22 on Tuesday to $75.39 per barrel. Brent crude, the pricing basis for international trading, shed 34 cents to $80.34 per barrel. The dollar slipped to 135.43 Japanese yen from 135.59 yen. The euro rose to $1.0638 from $1.0633.
