In Asia today, the Hang Seng ended the morning session down 209.87 points at
24,101.82, while the Nikkei was recently 240.2 points lower at 13,010.23.
New York's main oil contract, light sweet crude for May delivery, gained 29 cents
to $108.79 a barrel from $108.50 at the close of floor trading on the New York
Mercantile Exchange, when the contract flirted with record highs.