Asian Stocks Trade Mostly Higher

Oil prices were slightly lower after rising sharply overnight on concerns about Israel's ground offensive in Gaza and a dispute between Ukraine and Russia over gas imports.

In Asian trade, light, sweet crude for February delivery was down 75 cents at $48.06 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $2.47 cents to settle at $48.81 a barrel overnight.

In currencies, the dollar was slightly lower at 93.05 yen, compared with 92.86 yen earlier, after advancing in recent days. The euro traded lower at $1.3597.