OVERNIGHT

Chinese shares overnight traded in a see-saw fashion as they seemed to be caught between two forces., more liquidity and the possibility of officials turning down the spigot for more monetary stimulation.

The Shanghai Composite Index opened down but veered into positive territory and last traded up 0.2%. The smaller Shenzhen Composite also gained 0.5%. Early trading showed an absence of Wednesday's drama when shared took a bit hit, declining at one point 4.3%.

According to one observer, there's a concern about liquidity and central bank easing policy. The PBOC has been dumping money into the system with various purchases to quell investor concerns about any liquidity squeeze and the possibility that the central bank at some point with have to back off these moves to add further market stimulation sooner rather than later.

In other markets, the Nikkei was up 2%, the Korean Kospi edged 0.5% higher, the Hang Send rallied 1.6% and the Australian S&P/ASX 200 traded 1% higher. The yen traded at 109.75 to the dollar providing some relief to the country's exporters. Oil traded down near $45.60 for Brent. But it was up on other news, taking some of the sting out of the breakdown of  a possible cut in production over the weekend in Kuwait

The rise in the Nikkei lifted shares to a 5 1/2 week high partly on the weakness in the yen and partly on investor hopes for more easing by  the BOJ. At one point the index hit 17,265.67, a high not seen since mid-March.