analyststs say expectationss fo interest rate hikes this year are providing some support to the u.s. currency. looking at individual stock performances, the energy sector jumped on overnight gain in crude oil prices. all developers like inpex and japan petroleum exploration rose 3%. market players will be closing watching the central bank meeting. giang nguyen reporting from the tokyo stock exchange. >>> moving on, markets in the asia pacific region in sydney, the asx finished at 5713. higher interest rates in the u.s. but declined to metal prices weighed on resource shares. stock prices in singapore climbed 0.4%, 3064 the closing number. gains in major banks and property shares pushed the index up to a 15-month high on their half-day session. hong kong ending slightly lower, several markets in the region were closed for the lunar new year holiday. trading in mainland china will resume next friday. here's a look at some other business stories. >> executives at toshiba have apprproved a plan to split off s flash memory business. and develop it within a new firm partially financed by i