U.S. oil futures sank to a six-week low after the International Energy Agency said world oil demand growth was slowing, while the dollar slipped against the yen after a record U.S. trade deficit and benign Fed meeting minutes.
Financial bookmakers in Europe expected shares in London, Frankfurt and Paris to rise by about 30 points each at the open, helped by the fall in oil prices and a rise in U.S. shares. U.S. markets took the Fed's statement to imply rates would not be raised more aggressively than the measured pace of the last nine months.
NYMEX crude for May delivery briefly touched $51.20 a barrel, the lowest since March 1. It was at $51.40, down 46 cents or 0.89 percent, by 0610 GMT on active volume.
"From the demand side, it would appear that the risks are, for the first time in two years, edging toward the downside," the IEA wrote in its monthly Oil Market Report.
Japan's Nikkei average slipped 0.28 percent to close at 11,637.52, led lower by a 1.2 percent slide in Sony Corp. Cosmetic maker Kanebo Ltd. plunged 13.4 percent after disclosing accounting fraud in past years.
"Big players like foreign hedge funds are shrinking their exposure to equities until they are certain about where U.S. interest rates will settle," said Takahiko Murai, general manager of equities at Nozomi Securities.
U.S. stocks rallied after the release of the Fed minutes, which fired up investor appetite for banks, such as Citigroup Inc.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.57 percent to 10,507.97. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.67 percent to finish the day at 2,005.40.
MSCI's index of non-Japan Asian shares rose 0.4 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index led gains with a 0.66 percent morning advance on gains in property stocks.