Asia stocks get welcome respite as crude prices bounce

By Lisa TwaroniteTOKYO (Reuters) – Battered crude oil prices bounced back from their lows on Thursday, propelling solid gains in Asian shares and the dollar. Thursday’s gains built on Wall Street’s consolidation overnight in which major indexes finished with declines of more than 1 percent, but well off the 3 percent plus they plumbed in the previous session when U.S. crude had dropped to 2003 lows. New front-month U.S. March oil futures fell nearly 4 percent on the day to clos