Overnight

It was a good start for the Nikkei 225 Monday as the index average soared 2.2 percent to 16,721.23 in midmorning trade, after rising as high as 16,737.95, the highest since August 17. As one market guru, according to Reuter, said: "It's not too difficult for the Nikkei to trade above the current 16,500 level. What the market wants to see is whether the U.S. economy is strong enough to stimulate investor appetite and the Nikkei to stay above the 17,000 level."

The U.S. dollar rallied pushing the yen lower and giving Japanese stocks a boost. The WSJ reports:
The dollar’s strength pushed commodity prices lower. Brent crude, the global benchmark, was recently trading down US$0.56 at $49.35 a barrel. In Australia, the commodity-heavy S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.1%, withWoodside Petroleum Ltd. falling 1.8% and Oil Search Ltd. declining 2.3%. Rio Tinto Ltd. and BHP Billiton Ltd. fell 1.2% and 0.4%, respectively.

After all the hullabaloo over Jackson Hole last week it apparently gave investors a sense of direction they believe will help clear up things. Another observer had this comment in the Jounal.

“All of the concerns and worries were addressed in [Ms. Yellen’s] speech,” said Alex Wijaya, a senior sales trader at CMC Markets.

Then when Vice Chair Stanley Fischer backed up Yellen's comments many believe that made the Fed's interest rate intentions clear removing much doubt. “I thought what Fischer said was a driver” of the currency moves, said Naoki Fujiwara, a fund manager at Shinkin Asset Management.

“He didn’t rule out the possibility of a rate increase in September,” said Mr. Fujiwara.

 U.S. stocks drifted lower on Friday on the news registering the market'a largest weekly decline since the U.K.’s vote to leave the European Union in June., the Journal reported. The yen in early Monday trading was off 0.3% against the dollar. In other markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was recently down 0.4%, while Singapore’s Straits Times Index was off 0.7%., the Kospi was down 0.2% and gold was trading at $1317.60 an ounce