In Asia today, the Nikkei closed up just 0.16 at 17,292.48, while the Hang Seng closed the morning down 314.72 points at 20,364.97.
New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in March, was up 15 cents at $57.86 a barrel after tumbling $1.17 to $57.71 in late US trades overnight.