SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific declined in Thursday morning trade as investors await the Bank of Japan’sThe most recent announcements on monetary policy.

It Nikkei 225Japan saw its early trade decline by 1.2% while the Topix Index fell by 1.13%. According to data from the Japanese government, retail sales fell by 0.6% in September compared with a year ago.

On Thursday, the Bank of Japan will announce its most recent monetary policy decision. According to Reuters the central bank should maintain policy stability.

South Korea is another option. KospiThe exchange traded at 0.12% more. Australia’s shares declined in the aftermath of the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.29%.

MSCI’s Asia-Pacific share index was 0.06% smaller.

Overnight stateside, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 266.19 points to 35,490.69 while the S&P 500 slipped about 0.51% to 4,551.68. At 15,235.84, the Nasdaq Composite was flat.

It U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 93.888 — still off levels around 94 seen recently.

It Japanese yenIt traded at 113.78 dollars, higher than levels above 114 that were seen earlier in this week. The Australian dollarChanged hands at $0.7504, a significant drop from the $0.753 levels earlier in this week.

The morning Asia trading hour saw oil prices lower, with an international benchmark Brent crude futuresThe price of a barrel fell to $84, or 0.66%. U.S. crude futuresBarrel price fell by 0.8% to $81.95