Reuters

Another impressive record for world stocks was hanging in the balance on Thursday, as a late blow-out in Japan and falls in Europe and U.S. futures threatened to spoil the longest winning streak for MSCI’s global index since 2003.

Japanese shares ended down on Thursday after dramatic intraday swings took the Nikkei and Topix indexes to multi-decade highs only to plunge in the afternoon on futures-driven trading ahead of the following day’s options settlement.

The dollar slipped versus the yen on Thursday as a sudden fall in Japanese equities from multi-decade peaks dampened risk sentiment.

U.S. President Donald Trump called on China to do more to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue and said bilateral trade had been unfair to the United States, while Chinese President Xi Jinping said his country would be more open to foreign firms.

A U.S. Senate tax-cut bill, differing from one in the House of Representatives, was expected to be unveiled on Thursday, complicating a Republican tax overhaul push.

Asia stocks hovered near a decade high on Thursday following another record breaking day on Wall Street, while the New Zealand dollar rallied.

The dollar slipped to a more than one-week low against the yen on Wednesday, pressured by worries over possible delays to President Donald Trump’s tax reform plans.

 “Major issues” must still be resolved on safeguarding citizens’ rights after Brexit, the European Parliament’s negotiator Guy Verhofstadt said on Wednesday, the eve of another round of divorce negotiations between London and Brussels.

The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday, adding to its gains after comments by Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz the day before which were less dovish than investors had expected.

Sterling slipped on Wednesday, with a string of scandals in the ruling Conservative party and evidence of growing doubts over Prime Minister Theresa May’s ability to deliver a good Brexit deal putting pressure on the pound.