Overnight

The Nikkei 225 was off 0.2% in mid morning trading Tuesday on thin volume as it couldn't seem to find a real direct slipping further down after some see-sawing 1.1% in the afternoon on weaker oil prices and a stronger yen.

The Hang Seng Index hung around flat, falling 0.1%, the Australian ASX 200 fell 0.2% as weaker oil prices hit the commodity sector. The Kospi was up 0.1%. The WSJ reported: Late on Monday, the S&P 500, Dow Jones Average and the NasdaqComposite all reached record highs—a feat they accomplished last Thursday for the first time since 1999—on the back of hopes for production cuts in the oversupplied oil market. Brent crude oil eased back from a one-month high in Asian trade, though, and was last down to $48.04 a barrel.

The Shanghai market erased earlier gains as investors took profits in financial blue-chips. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index edged down 0.5% to 3108.9, after trading up as high as 0.5% after the opening. Banking, car manufacturing and insurance stocks retreated the most as investors took profits in blue-chips.

The FTSE Bursa Malaysia Index climbed Tuesday morning alongside positive Asian markets lifted by expectations of more monetary easing around the globe. The Malaysia 30-stocks benchmark index increased 0.5% to 1,699.1 points in early trade, and was up 0.4% year-to-date.

In the commodity sector, copper futures edged higher and nickel fell 0.6%, while gold rose 0.5% to $1,346 a troy ounce.

The Nikkei dropped 0.2 percent to 16,837.98 in midmorning trade.