Asian stocks rose Wednesday, the Associated Press reported. Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney advanced. Shanghai followed Wall Street lower. Oil prices gained. The Shanghai Composite Index lost less than 0.1% to 3,243.06 while the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo gained 0.8% to 27,728.70. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong jumped 1.9% to 20,165.60. The Kospi in Seoul remained at 2,435.60 while Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 advanced 0.2% to 7,050.30. India's Sensex opened up 0.3% at 57,807.62. New Zealand declined while Southeast Asian markets rose. In energy markets, benchmark US crude advanced 51 cents to $73.71 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 39 cents on Tuesday to $73.20. Brent crude, the price basis for international oil trading, added 28 cents to $74.82 per barrel in London. It gained 53 cents the previous session to $78.65. The dollar gained to 131.71 yen from Tuesday's 130.80 yen. The euro declined to $1.0839 from $1.0842.