Asian stocks mixed after Wall Street rises to record

TOKYO (AP): Shares were mixed Thursday (Feb 20) in Asia after Wall Street recovered to record highs, with the Shanghai benchmark jumping nearly 2% after China's central bank cut interest rates to help ease credit for companies stricken by the virus outbreak centered on the city of Wuhan.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 0.3% to 23,479.15, shedding bigger early gains. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.3% to 7,162.50. and the Shanghai Composite index picked up 0.5% to 2,989.31. But South Korea's Kospi lost 0.7% to 2,195.50. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dipped 0.2% to 27,611.67, while India's Sensex edged 0.1% higher to 41,365.80. Shares fell in Taiwan, Thailand and Singapore but rose in Jakarta.