Overrnight

Investors might not have noticed it with all the attention global central bankers have been getting of late, but there's another theme at work here very much tied to those central banks, the action of currencies.

The dollar, for example, has fallen by about 15 percent compared to the Japanese yen and 3 percent against the euro. It's up 2.5 percent against the renminbi year-to-date. A stronger dollar would be somewhat negative for gold, big U.S. multinationals and exports, but it would also most likely bring back more drilling activity for oil.

Meanwhile, the Nikkei fell overnight,in part owing the the stronger yen and the continued uncertainty in markets as investors further focus on global central bankers who will be speaking this week. The Nikkei was down 0.49% as the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 indexes eased Wednesday wile the Nasdaq managed to push higher to a new closing high.

The Australian S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.89 percent wile on the mainland the Shanghai Composite traded flat and the Shenzhen edged a bit higher, 0.32%, the Hang Seng index inched up 0.32 percent. South Korea's benchmark Kospi slipped 0.29 percent.

In the U.S energy prices rallied Wednesday behind an American Petroleum Institute announcement of the largest weekly stock declines in nationwide crude inventories in over 30 years. U.S. crude futures were trading up 1.76 percent at $46.30 a barrel, while Brent futures added 1.56 percent to $48.73 during Asian trade. Later in the day Thursday investors will be watching what happens at the ECB monetary policy meeting as the central bank theme continues to hold attention of investors around the globe.