VENTURE CAPITAL POST

The dollar held near a four-year high against a basket of currencies on Friday, fueled by the biggest yield advantage over the euro in nearly 15 years as the Federal Reserve contemplates hiking interest rates.

Japan's legions of retail foreign-exchange traders, popularly known as Mrs Watanabe, are turning into sellers of yen.

U.S. stocks ended with sharp losses on Thursday, with the S&P 500 suffering its biggest one-day decline since July, as Apple tumbled and the dollar rose to a four-year high.

The euro hit a 22-month low against the dollar on Thursday on the prospect of diverging monetary policy between the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank as rate differentials swing decisively in the greenback's favor.

Asian stocks rose early on Thursday, cheered by a sizeable overnight rebound on Wall Street, while the dollar resumed its advance after upbeat economic data undercut safe-haven bids and pushed yields higher.

The yen rose on Wednesday after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe voiced concern about the economic impact of its fall to a six-year low, adding to the sense of a halt this week in the dollar's record-breaking run since July.

Asian shares slipped on Tuesday as a periodic bout of angst over China combined with the U.S. dollar's recent meteoric run to pile pressure on commodity prices.

Asian shares got off on the back foot on Monday after an uninspiring session on Wall Street, while the dollar gave back a little of its recent solid gains in early trading.

The asset with the greatest prowess of late has been the U.S. dollar, and if its rally continues, it threatens to eat into the earnings of multinational companies.

The British pound rose sharply after the Scottish independence vote indicated Scotland would remain in the United Kingdom, while Wall Street's overnight gains and Alibaba Group's red-hot initial public offering underpinned Asian shares.

Japanese shares jumped on Thursday after the dollar vaulted to a six-year peak on the yen as the Federal Reserve's outlook for rising rates underlined the diverging path between the United states and the rest of the rich world.

U.S. stocks edged higher in volatile trading on Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve renewed its pledge to keep interest rates near zero for a "considerable time" and repeated concerns over slack in the labor market, standing firm against calls to overhaul its policy statement.

Stock markets around the world rose on Tuesday, ending near session highs as investors bet that the U.S. Federal Reserve wouldn't adjust its guidance about how soon it would raise interest rates.

Global shares hit a one-month low on Tuesday as investors refrained from placing strong bets before a Fed meeting that could adjust expectations about how soon the U.S. central bank will hike interest rates.

European stock markets rode out a rough morning to move higher on Monday, recovering some poise at the start of a week likely to be dominated by a meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve and Scotland's vote on whether to leave the United Kingdom.