(MENAFN- Saudi Press Agency)
Beijing 15 Jumada II1437 AH 24 March2016 SPA -- Asian stock markets fell for a second day Thursday after declines in prices of oil and other commodities pulled Wall Street lower AP reported.
The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.5 percent to 2994.93 points and Hong Kong's Hang Seng tumbled 1.2 percent to 20373.54. Sydney's S&P ASX 200 fell 1.1 percent to 5085.60 and Tokyo's Nikkei 225 retreated 0.3 percent to 16956.11. Seoul's Kospi shed 0.3 percent to 1989.22 and benchmarks in Singapore and Jakarta also declined. Indian markets were closed for a holiday. New Zealand advanced.
Overnight the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that crude stockpiles rose 9.4 million barrels last week in further confirmation of substantial supplies. That helped to push benchmark U.S. crude below $40.
Benchmark U.S. crude shed 12 cents to $39.67 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract plunged $1.66 on Wednesday to close below $40 at $39.79. Brent crude used to price international oils gained 4 cents to $40.51 in London. It lost $1.32 in the previous session to $40.47.
The dollar gained to 112.83 yen from Wednesday's 112.44. The euro edged down to $1.1175 from $1.1181.
-- SPA
12:19 LOCAL TIME 09:19 GMT
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