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HONG KONG (AP) — Asian stock markets were mostly lower Thursday after news of a big buildup in U.S. oil stockpiles depressed crude prices and shares of energy companies.
KEEPING SCORE: Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.2 percent to 19,283.65 but South Korea's Kospi dipped 0.1 percent to 2,093.72. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 1 percent to 23,528.77 and the Shanghai Composite index in mainland China slid 0.9 percent to 3,213.16. Australia's S&P ASX 200 shed 0.4 percent to 5,735.40.
EXCESS ENERGY: Oil reserves grew by 8 million barrels last week, far more than analysts expected, according to the report by the Energy Information Administration. The news triggered a sell-off in energy-related shares and oil futures, with benchmark U.S. crude skidding $2.86, or 5.4 percent, to close at $50.28 a barrel, its biggest drop in more than a year. Prices had stabilized by Thursday morning in Asia, with crude oil adding 35 cents to $50.63 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used to price international oils, fell rose 46 cents to $53.57 a barrel in London.
ANALYST INSIGHT: "It's pretty bad. A 5 percent drop in the oil price is very significant. It even has an impact on the stock market as well," said Margaret Yang, an analyst at CMC Markets in Singapore. "The overall performance of U.S. indices was dragged down by the energy sector and the same thing is happening" in Asia, she said. Shares of Japan Petroleum Exploration slid 1.5 percent while PetroChina slumped 2.2 percent and Sinopec, China's largest refiner, tumbled 3.3 percent.
WALL STREET: Major U.S. benchmarks fell for the third day in a row. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dipped 0.2 percent to 2,362.98. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 0.3 percent to 20,855.73. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.1 percent to 5,836.55 as health care and technology companies moved higher.
CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 114.45 yen from 114.33 yen. The euro was steady at $1.0539.
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