The dollar index, a measure of its value versus six major peers, eased 0.1 percent to 96.62 on Thursday. The index lost 0.13 percent in the previous trading session.
Analysts believe the medium-term direction of the dollar will be decided by the monetary tightening path of the Federal Reserve.
The Fed is expected to announce its fourth rate hike of 2018 in December, but investors are beginning to question how many rate hikes the Fed can implement next year without risking a slowdown in the U.S., which has held up well so far even as borrowing costs have risen.
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· European markets opened in negative territory on Thursday as investors remained cautious in the face of Brexit and Italy budget difficulties in Europe, and wider geopolitical tensions.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was down 0.2 percent, with all major indexes in negative territory.
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MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan were last up 0.2 percent, recouping earlier losses. The index has managed to hold up so far in November after three straight monthly declines, but is on track for its worst annual performance since 2011.
· Japan’s Nikkei rose on Thursday in choppy trade with gains for defensive stocks and companies linked to inbound tourism demand after data showed a bounce in visitors in October.
The Nikkei gained 0.7 percent to 21,646.55, yet it barely moved for the week. The broader Topix advanced 0.8 percent to 1,628.96, though trade was thin, with only 1.2 billion shares changing hands, the lowest figure in a month.
Japanese markets will be closed on Friday due to a national holiday, with investors looking to the outcome of Black Friday sales that follow Thursday’s U.S. Thanksgiving Day holiday, at a time when wages are rising and consumer confidence is high in the United States.
· China’s main stock indexes fell on Thursday, extending a lengthy slump tied to the fractious trade war between the world’s two largest economies, and few analysts expect either the dispute or market weakness to end any time soon.
Those pressures weighed on the Shanghai Composite index on Thursday, pulling it down 0.6 percent by midday. The index has tumbled more than 20 percent so far this year.
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