Overnight

Ahead of Friday's Yellen talk the appetite for risk has seemed to dry up as the Nikkei soften slightly, 0.2%, to trade at 16,562.49 by mid-morning after Wall Street showed some weakness Wednesday. For the Nikkei this past week it's been about narrowness or range bound as the index loitered between 16,452.01 and 16,714.61 awaiting Yellen's remarks.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was trading flat, while the Shanghai Composite Index was 1.1% lower and the South Korean Kospi added 0.1%. The missing theme here is direction as investors shy away from any real risk taking. The WSJ reported: Declines overnight in commodities prices weighed on the major commodities-producing countries, such as Australia. The S&P/ASX 200 was last down 0.1%, while in Singapore, the Straits Times Index added 0.1%. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was unchanged at $49.04 a barrel.

The Japanese yen was relatively flat against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, but analysts expect that the dollar could strengthen on Ms. Yellen’s upcoming comments. 

In China liquidity was the question as the Peoples Bank of China added early Thursday morning some when it more money into the financial system some analysts were speculating to calm investor nerves. According to reports, the bank replaced seven-day reverse purchase agreements with 14-day one to the tune of 80 billion yuan in its daily money market system. The yen remained flat against the dollar but many think that could change depending on Yellen's message.