OVERNIGHT

Not much was expected ahead of some central bank releases today and Thursday as Asian markets mostly traded lower, but crude oil owing to a supply draw down report held strong,  settling near 2016 highs.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS retreated 0.5 percent while Australian shares remained flat owing to weak inflation data as the Reserve Bank of Australia kept its rates unchanged though some investors feel a further cut could be in the works soon. One of the big questions is what will the Bank of Japan do Thursday. Some are expecting officials to further ramp up its monetary stimulus package.

 U.S. crude traded at $44.50 a barrel, not far from $44.83, the highest since early November. Tuesday, Brent crude was at $46.30 a barrel after rising to a five-month peak of $46.49 overnight. Energy shares are up 14% over the past three months, not necessarily what investors were anticipating, a move that outperformed most other sectors. In other Asian markets, the Shanghai Composite Index was flat, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.3% and South Korea’s Kospi was down 0.2%.

The WSJ reported: Stocks in Japan fell Wednesday amid disappointing corporate earnings ahead of decisions by central banks in the U.S. and Japan, while elsewhere in the region, energy shares rallied as oil prices reached new highs.

The Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.5% as traders were reluctant to put on big trades. Among individual stocks, bicycle parts maker Shimano dropped 4.4% after the company cut its net-profit projection for 2016, citing a weaker U.S. dollar against the yen.