·         The dollar was on the defensive on Thursday as doubts for the prospects of U.S. tax reforms, a fall in U.S. stocks, and declining high-yield bond prices all soured the mood, offsetting an uptick in underlying U.S. inflation.

The dollar index stood at 93.891, after having fallen to as low as 93.402 on Wednesday, its weakest in almost four weeks, a severe correction from the uptrend that began in early September on hopes of a tax cut deal.

·         A U.S. Senate Republican tax plan drew fire from two Republican lawmakers on Wednesday in a possible sign of trouble for the sweeping measure, given the party can afford to lose no more than two votes to pass the legislation.

·         House Republicans are set to pass a sweeping rewrite of the tax code Thursday, bringing President Donald Trump and the GOP closer to the major legislative win they so desperately want. And leadership apparently barely lifted a finger to whip votes this week.

Speaker Paul Ryan and his top lieutenants have been working behind the scenes on a few tax reform holdouts in recent days. But House Republicans think they’ve already got enough votes lined up — and have not needed to turn to Trump to flip opponents.

Republicans cleared a key procedural vote on the massive tax-cuts package Wednesday afternoon on a party-line vote. The final passage vote is expected soon after Trump rallies the GOP Conference at an 11:30 a.m. closed-door meeting in the Capitol on Thursday.

·         U.S. President Donald Trump should “under no circumstances” take military action against North Korea without the consent of the government in Seoul, the chairwoman of South Korea’s ruling party, Choo Mi-ae, said on Wednesday.

·         China’s financial sector faces bubble risks, a government official warned on Thursday and said a property tax may be on the cards in the near future as authorities extended their efforts to reduce a worrisome build-up of debt in the economy.

·         Oil markets edged up on Thursday as expectations that OPEC will extend production cuts at a meeting at the end of this month outweighed rising U.S. crude production and inventories.

Brent crude futures LCOc1, the international benchmark for oil prices, were at $62.06 per barrel at 0742 GMT, up 19 cents, or 0.3 percent, from their last close.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $55.39 a barrel, 6 cents up from their last settlement.

Reference: Reuters,CNBC