OVERNIGHT

Crude oil was the topic de jour overnight as wishful thinking turns to actual hope about a cap on oil production moved investor to worry a bit less. U.S. crude finished up 2.1% at $31.34 a barrel. That up move followed a 7% spike Wednesday. Iran apparently had a change of heart and let it be known that it supported a cap led by Russia and Saudi ministers.

Stocks across Asian apparently like the news as they were mostly up Thursday. Reuters reported: MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1.8 percent, pulling further away from a three-week low struck last week when a widespread chill in risk appetite amid concern about the euro zone banking sector depressed equities globally.

Another market move apparently came from  the minutes of  The Fed's January FOMC meeting that revealed some concern about tighter global  financial problems hurting the U.S. outlook and noted their concern about hiking interest rates several times this year as was previously announced before all the turmoil erupted in January.

Add to that St. Louis Fed a President late Wednesday. It would be "unwise" for the central bank to continue hiking rates given declining inflation expectations and recent equity market volatility, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said late on Wednesday in comments that mark a stark change of direction for one of the Fed's more hawkish inflation foes.

In other markets the dollar was down slightly versus the yen and the euro and gold traded sideways after exiting a three-day losing run in response to the Fed's comments.  We doubt if this is, as the words of a classic pop song from the past goes, this is the start of something big.