Overnight

A weaker yen and a stronger dollar help push the Nikkei to one month high as most Asian sharesrallied slightly especially Japanese exporting firms. The Nikkei was up 0.9% as the yen hit 111 against the dollar aided by Fed Chair Janet Yellen's comments on interest rates Friday going into the long U.S. Memorial Day weekend. The Nikkei traded at 16,985.62 in midmorning trade, the highest level since April 28.

Shares also got a boost from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's decision to delay a sales tax hike scheduled for next April by 2-1/2 years. The tax was expected to hit in 2017. Still investors are concerned about next month's Brexit election though recent UK polls favor the stay versus the go vote. Abe's announcement didn't come without some who questioned it, however, as some officials were calling for Abe to clarify hoe the country was going to handle its defict.

Elsewhere, the WSJ reported: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, which tracks the movement of Chinese companies listed in the city, edged up 0.8% after falling more than 11% so far this year. The broader Hang Seng Index also gained 0.8%, while stocks in Australia, South Korea and Shanghai were roughly flat. In Singapore, shares of Noble Group fell 3.3% after the commodities trader announced the resignation of its chief executive and the planned sale of its North America energy-solutions business, capping months of difficulties for the company. Brent crude oil was down 0.1% at $49.90 a barrel during the Asian trading day.