Overnight

Blame it on oil, as some did. Asian shares softened in overnight trading as oil prices receded putting a touch of hesitancy in buying more risky assets. That mixed with some conflicting economic data in the U.S. along with a weaker dollar against the yen dampened some investor spirits.

The Nikkei was off  slightly as the yen strengthened ahead of what is expected to be a concession by Prime Minister Shinto Abe today on delaying what was to be a sales tax hike in an anemic economy. The move is not without consequences as some are calling his commitment to shore up the nation's deep debt problems and stimulating the economy into question.

Australian stocks also backed off while Shanghai shares remained flat despite yesterday's rally on news stocks could be added to a major emerging market index. An aside, and that seems how investors took the news, as an aside, was China's Purchasing Managers' Index, while up slightly for the third month in a row, suffered from weak orders. Reuters reported: "The official PMI was unchanged from April at 50.1 last month, barely above the 50-Mark that separates expansion in activity from contraction on a monthly basis."

The Hang Seng Index and South Korea’s Kospi were flat. The Nikkei Stock Average was down 0.6%, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.3%. Brent crude oil was last down 0.6% at $49.61 a barrel after U.S. prices slipped below the $50-a-barrel threshold overnight.