• In the foreign exchange market, the dollar stayed near its seven-month low against a basket of currencies as doubts over Trump's ability to push through his stimulus plans have eroded the greenback's gains late last year.
The dollar index stood at 96.695 .DXY =USD, near Wednesday's seven-month low of 96.511.
The euro EUR= traded at $1.1258, near its seven-month high of $1.1285 touched earlier this month, ahead of the European Central Bank's policy meeting later in the day.
Against the yen, the dollar bounced back a tad to 109.74 yen JPY= from Wednesday's 1-1/2-month low of 109.115.
• The lead of British Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party over the opposition Labour Party has remained at one percentage point, according to a Survation poll published on Wednesday, one day before Britain's national election.
Survation said it put support for the Conservatives at 41.3 percent with Labour close behind on 40.4 percent.
• The European Central Bank is likely to keep the money taps fully open at its meeting on Thursday as inflation remains below its target despite stronger economic growth in the euro zone.
• A preliminary investigation has confirmed that Qatar's state news agency was hacked, and false statements attributed to the country's ruler were posted that helped ignite a rift with other Gulf states, the Qatari foreign ministry said on Wednesday.
• U.S. President Donald Trump offered on Wednesday to help resolve a worsening diplomatic crisis between Qatar and other Arab powers as the United Arab Emirates invoked the possibility of an economic embargo on Doha over its alleged support of terrorism.
In his second intervention in the row in as many days, Trump urged action against terrorism in a call with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, a White House statement said.
• U.S. President Donald Trump spoke by telephone on Wednesday with Abu Dhabi's crown prince and stressed the importance of unity among Gulf Arab states, which are in the grips of a diplomatic crisis over accusations by some of them that Qatar supports terrorism, the White House said.
• Standard & Poor's downgraded Qatar's debt on Wednesday as the riyal currency fell to an 11-year low amid signs that portfolio investment funds were flowing out of the country because of Doha's diplomatic rift with other Arab states.
S&P cut its long-term rating of Qatar by one notch to AA- from AA and put the rating on CreditWatch with negative implications, meaning there was a significant chance of a further downgrade.
• Oil prices slid 5 percent on Wednesday to a one-month low, after an unexpected increase in U.S. inventories of crude and gasoline fanned fears that output cuts by major world oil producers have not done much to drain a global glut.
U.S. crude futures settled down 5 percent, or $2.47 a barrel, at $45.72 a barrel, the lowest settlement for U.S. crude since May 4. U.S. benchmark futures CLc1 have slid more than 11 percent in 10 days of trading.
Brent crude prices LCOc1 fell $2.06, or 4 percent to settle at $48.06 a barrel. Official settlement prices were delayed due to a technical issue, according to a Nymex spokesperson.
• Crude stocks in the United States grew 3.3 million barrels to 513 million barrels, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). That confounded forecasters who had predicted a drop of 3.5 million barrels, especially a day after data from the American Petroleum Institute indicated an even bigger fall.
• North Korea fired what appeared to be several land-to-ship missiles off its east coast on Thursday, South Korea's military said, the latest in a fast-paced series of missile tests defying world pressure to rein in its weapons programme.
• Suicide bombers and gunmen attacked the Iranian parliament and Ayatollah Khomeini's mausoleum in Tehran on Wednesday, killing at least 13 people in an unprecedented assault that Iran's Revolutionary Guards blamed on regional rival Saudi Arabia.
Islamic State claimed responsibility and threatened more attacks against Iran's majority Shi'ite population, seen by the hardline Sunni militants as heretics.
Reference: Reuters
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