In Asia today, the Hang Seng ended the morning session down 246.01 points at
27,369.84, while the Nikkei ended down 211.05 points at 14,388.11.
New York's main oil contract, light sweet crude for February delivery, gained 30
cents to $95.97 a barrel from $95.67 in late New York trades Wednesday, when
the contract dropped 66 cents.