Overnight

It was PMI day today as the Purchasing Managers Index hit the news, coming in above 50, a number considered to be indicative of growth.The 51.5 topped August's number of 49.4 and also the 50.4 economists were expecting.

The positive news spilled over in part to Asia over night with the Nikkei up 0.8%, the Hang Send off 0.11%, The Shanghai Composite up 0.21% and ASX 200 down 0.11%. The Bombay BSE Sensex gained 1.35%., the Kospi rose 0.7% and the Singapore Strait Times moved 0.2% higher.

The weaker yen helped Japanese shares as the PMI pushed the dollar higher. Also, it gave more impetus for higher U.S. interest rates in the eyes of many investors, with a hike coming this December. Japanese exporters moved higher on the session. Australia's Reserve Bank has a new governor, Philip Lowe, as investors await an interest  rate decision later today. The RBA is expected to leave interest rates unchanged at 1.5% for the second straight month as Lowe's rhetoric of late  the subject has been neutral. The stronger dollar also affected commodities, pushing many lower with Brent crude oil down 0.6% trading at $50.60 a barrel and gold down 0.1% at $1,310.92 an ounce.

As the noted the U.S.dollar index was up at 95.926 against a basket of currencies.The WSJ reported:
 Among other currencies, the British pound was relatively stable against the dollar in Asian trade, off 0.1% recently, after declining 1.1% Monday. The sterling’s decline came after U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May announced she would trigger Article 50 by the end of March 2017, formally starting the clock on the country’s two-year deadline to exit from the European Union.
 
Mainland Chinese markets are shut for the Golden Week holiday.