Asia stocks take breather, oil passes US$50 a barrel

HONG KONG (May 26): Asia stocks took a breather Thursday after a rally during the previous session, but energy firms were mostly up after oil surged past US$50 a barrel for the first time this year.

Investors seemed to brush off another strong lead from Wall Street and Europe, treading softly as the Group of Seven leaders' summit kicked off in Japan, where the sputtering global economy is likely to top the agenda.

Markets had rallied around the world Wednesday as investors welcomed a debt relief deal for Greece, bright German data, easing concerns of a Brexit and firmer oil prices.

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