Asian stocks muted amid mixed data, high oil price

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Asian stocks muted amid mixed data, high oil price

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High oil price amid tensions over Iran and the weakening dollar were keeping Asian markets in check.

24 February,2012 09:21 am

Asian stocks markets were muted Friday following a mixed bag of U.S. and European economic reports and as oil prices rose to a new nine-month high.Crude climbed above $108 a barrel and the dollar weakened against the euro and yen.Japans Nikkei 225 was little changed at 9,594.20 and Hong Kongs Hang Seng edged up 0.2 percent to 21,418.43. South Koreas Kospi added 0.1 percent to 2,009.88.Australias S&P/ASX 200 was 0.2 percent higher at 4,295.10. Mainland Chinas Shanghai Composite Index was up 0.3 percent to 2,415.65. Some markets swung back and forth between positive and negative territory in early trading.Asian investors were downcast after the European Commission forecast that the combined economies of the 17 nations that use the euro would shrink in 2012, raising concerns that austerity programs are holding back growth.Another report said German business confidence rose in February for a fourth straight month, but some analysts noted that the report also highlighted disparities in growth across Europe.A U.S. report that found the four-week average of unemployment aid applications fell to its lowest in four years helped push up U.S. stocks but had little effect on Asian traders.On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average finished 0.4 percent higher at 12,984.69 and the broader Standard & Poors 500 index gained 0.4 percent to close at 1,363.46. The Nasdaq composite index climbed 0.8 percent to 2,956.98.Fears over the price of crude oil driven higher by tensions over Iran and the weakening dollar were keeping Asian markets in check because of worries it could crimp the U.S. economic recovery.Benchmark crude for April delivery was up 63 cents to 108.46 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract advanced $1.55, or 1.5 percent, to settle at $107.83 on Thursday.In currencies, the euro strengthened to $1.3367 from $1.3337 late Thursday in New York. The dollar rose to 80.06 Japanese yen from 80.08 yen.