• The euro traded near a six-month high against the dollar on Friday, supported by expectations that centrist Emmanuel Macron will win France's presidential election. The euro eased 0.1 percent to $1.0979 EUR=, holding near Thursday's high of $1.0988, its highest since early November.
The dollar edged up 0.1 percent to 112.62 yen JPY=, but was down from Thursday's 7-week high of 113.045 yen.
• New applications for U.S. jobless benefits fell sharply last week and the number of Americans on unemployment rolls hit a 17-year low, pointing to a tightening labor market that could allow the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates next month.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 19,000 to a seasonally adjusted 238,000 for the week ended April 29, the Labor Department said.
Most economists expect a rate hike in June. Jobless claims have now been below 300,000, a threshold associated with a healthy labor market, for 113 straight weeks. That is the longest such stretch since 1970, when the labor market was smaller. The labor market is close to full employment, with the unemployment rate at a near 10-year low of 4.5 percent.
• The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday narrowly approved a bill to repeal Obamacare, handing Republican President Donald Trump a victory that could prove short-lived as the healthcare legislation heads into a likely tough battle in the Senate.
• The U.S. Senate on Thursday gave final legislative approval to a $1.2 trillion spending bill to keep the government open through September, a measure President Donald Trump is expected to sign before Friday's deadline.
Senators from both Republican and Democratic parties voted in favor of the bill, which passed 79 to 18 with only Republicans opposing the measure, citing minimal changes to spending levels.
• Crude oil prices tumbled on Thursday, erasing the gains made since a production cut deal last November, while the euro strengthened against the U.S. dollar as a pro-European Union centrist looked set to win the French presidency.
Oil prices fell to the lowest since late November on signs that OPEC and other producing countries would not take more drastic steps to reduce the world's persistent glut of crude.
U.S. crude fell 5.06 percent to $45.40 per barrel and Brent was at $48.35, down 4.8 percent on the day.
Reference: Reuters
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