Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Thursday, December 29:
1. Dollar rally loses steam ahead of New Year's
The U.S. dollar slumped in light pre-New Year holiday trade on Thursday, slipping from its 14-year-high against a basket of currencies as investors took profits in the run-up to the end of the year.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.5% at 102.72 by 6:00AM ET (11:00GMT), pulling back from last week's 14-year peak of 103.62.
Against the yen, the dollar was down around 0.7% at 116.41, retreating from a 10-1/2 month high of 118.65 set last week.
Meanwhile, the euro rose 0.55% against the greenback to 1.0472, moving away from last week's 13-year low of 1.0352.
Elsewhere, the British pound rebounded almost 0.3% to 1.2261 against the dollar, after falling to a two-month low of 1.2201 a day earlier.
2. Global stocks struggle in year-end trade
U.S. stock markets pointed to a flat to slightly lower open on Thursday morning, amid fading hopes that the Dow will reach the psychologically important milestone of 20,000 before the year is out.
On the data front, Thursday will see the release of the most recent jobless claims data, due out at 8:30AM ET.
Meanwhile, European stocks edged down in quiet mid-morning trade, amid thin volumes during the holiday period in the region.
In Asia, markets ended broadly lower, with the Nikkei in Japan falling 1.3%.
3. U.S. oil prices slip lower on bets for bearish supply report
U.S. oil prices edged slightly lower on Thursday, as market players awaited fresh weekly information on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration will release its weekly report on oil supplies at 11:00AM ET (16:00GMT) Thursday, amid analyst expectations for a decline of 2.0 million barrels.
The report comes out one day later than usual due to the holidays.
After markets closed Wednesday, the American Petroleum Institute said that U.S. oil inventories rose by 4.2 million barrels in the week ended December 23.
U.S. crude was down 15 cents, or 0.3%, to $53.93.
Meanwhile, Brent tacked on 9 cents, or 0.15%, to $57.05 a barrel, amid optimism over planned output cuts by major global oil producers set to kick in on January 1.
4. Toshiba shares sink again as financial worries deepen
Shares in Toshiba Corp. (T:6502) fell more than 19% at one point on Thursday, before closing down nearly 17% to clock its third day of heavy losses after the Japanese tech-to-nuclear conglomerate said earlier this week it faced a potential multi-billion dollar writedown.
Since Tuesday's warning, Toshiba's share drop has wiped about $6.5 billion off of its market value.
Late on Wednesday, Moody's became the second agency to downgrade Toshiba's rating, pushing it deeper into "junk", or non-investment grade territory, with a Caa1 rating, from B3.
Earlier this week, Toshiba said cost overruns at a U.S. nuclear business it bought from Chicago Bridge & Iron last year, CB&I Stone & Webster, meant it could face "several billion dollars" in charges, acknowledging a bruising overpayment.
5. Bitcoin prices extend rally to $985
Web-based digital currency Bitcoin extended its recent rally in pre-New Year holiday trade on Thursday, hitting its highest levels since January 2014 amid bullish momentum.
Bitcoin was trading as high as $985.33 on the New York-based itBit exchange, before falling back to $975.77, down around 0.4% on the day.
The digital currency is up almost 30% so far this month amid heavy buying from China and India, as investors look to shield themselves from currency devaluations and cash shortages.
For the year, Bitcoin is up a whopping 95%, making it one of the best performing assets of 2016.