• The dollar held gains against the yen on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump's tax plan offered no fresh surprises, slowing the greenback's rally, while the market awaited the European Central Bank's upcoming monetary policy decision.
Against the Japanese yen, the dollar had surged to a four-week high of 111.780 overnight before the unveiling of Trump's tax reform plan, but it lost traction as it failed to excite investors. The dollar was last up 0.15 percent at 111.220 yen.
The dollar index against a basket of major currencies slipped 0.2 percent to 98.844 after rising to 99.332 the previous day.
• President Donald Trump unveiled a one-page plan on Wednesday proposing deep U.S. tax cuts, many for businesses, that would make the federal deficit balloon if enacted, drawing a cautious welcome from fiscal conservatives and financial markets.
While the proposed tax cuts would please those helped by them, such as multinational corporations and wealthy taxpayers, Trump's package fell far short of the kind of comprehensive tax reform that both parties in Washington have sought for years.
• U.S. President Donald Trump told the leaders of Canada and Mexico on Wednesday that he will not terminate the NAFTA treaty but will renegotiate it with them, a White House statement said.
The announcement came as White House officials disclosed that Trump and his White House advisers were considering issuing an executive order to withdraw the United States from the trade pact with Canada and Mexico,although the timing of the action is uncertain.
"President Trump agreed not to terminate NAFTA at this time and the leaders agreed to proceed swiftly, according to their required internal procedures, to enable the renegotiation of the NAFTA deal to the benefit of all three countries," a White House statement said.
• Fewer French voters believe centrist Emmanuel Macron got off to a good start in the last lap of France's presidential election than far right leader Marine Le Pen, a poll showed on Thursday.
Macron, the favourite to win the presidency, has suffered several costly public relations missteps since he and Le Pen qualified in a first round of voting on Sunday for the decisive May 7 run-off.
The Elabe poll for BFM TV found that one out of two people surveyed considered that Le Pen's campaign had gotten off the ground well, compared with 43 percent for Macron.
• The Bank of Japan kept monetary policy unchanged on Thursday and offered a more upbeat view of the economy than last month, signalling its confidence that a pick-up in overseas demand will help sustain an export-driven recovery.
• British Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party holds a 16-point lead over the main opposition Labour Party ahead of a national election on June 8, an opinion poll showed on Wednesday, a smaller lead than other polls have suggested.
The YouGov poll conducted for The Times newspaper showed support for the Conservatives at 45 percent, down three percentage points from a YouGov poll conducted last week.
Labour increased its support by four points to 29 percent, while the smaller Liberal Democrats were down two points at 10 percent and UKIP rose two points to 7 percent, The Times said.
• The Thaad system is designed to protect South Korea and US troops based there against threats from North Korea.
The first key components were moved into place on Wednesday, but it was not expected to be in use until late 2017. The deployment of the system is opposed by many South Koreans, who fear it will become a target, and by China.
• A North Korean government official in a rare interview promised his country's nuclear tests would "never stop" as long as the US continued what they viewed as "acts of aggression."
Speaking to CNN Wednesday, Sok Chol Won wouldn't confirm when the country's long-anticipated sixth nuclear test would take place but said it wouldn't be influenced by outside events.
• South Korea and the United States agreed on Thursday on "swift punitive measures" against North Korea in the event of further provocation, as a North Korean official vowed it would push ahead with nuclear and missile tests to counter U.S. "hostile acts".
• Oil prices dipped on Thursday, weighed down by a general sentiment of globally bloated markets, though traders said that prices seemed to have found support around current levels.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures CLc1 were trading at $49.37 per barrel at 0644 GMT, down 25 cents, or 0.5 percent from their last close. WTI has lost around 8.5 percent in value from its April peak.
Brent crude futures LCOc1, the international benchmark for oil prices, were at $51.63 per barrel, down 19 cents, or 0.37 percent. Brent is almost 9 percent below its April peak.
Reference: Reuters,CNN,BBC
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