VENTURE CAPITAL POST

The dollar was on the defensive against the yen and euro on Thursday, paring gains after minutes of January's Federal Reserve policy meeting showed officials were concerned about hiking interest rates too soon.

The U.S. dollar was nursing losses in Asia on Thursday while bonds held hefty gains as investors scaled back expectations on how fast, and how far, the Federal Reserve might raise interest rates in coming months and years.

The Dow and S&P 500 ended barely lower on Wednesday after a drop in energy shares but declines were limited by minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting, which showed policymakers are concerned about raising interest rates too soon.

The European Central Bank faces resistance from Germany to allowing any extra emergency lending for Greek banks, people familiar with the matter said, increasing pressure on Athens to sign up to an extended aid-for-reform program.

The euro held steady on Wednesday, finding some support as investors held on to hopes that Greece will find enough common ground with its euro zone partners and avoid a chaotic exit from the currency union.

Asian equities tracked a mild bounce on Wall Street, edging higher on Wednesday as pessimism about the Greek debt saga receded somewhat, while the dollar strengthened against the yen thanks to higher U.S. debt yields.

Stocks fell and lower-rated euro zone bond yields rose on Tuesday after talks between Athens and its European partners over the country's debt crisis collapsed, raising doubts about Greece's future in the currency bloc.

The euro skidded on Tuesday after a collapse in talks to secure a new debt deal for Greece kept markets guessing about the next chapter in the nerve-wracking saga as Athens tries to secure improved terms with its creditors.

Global shares hit their highest since September and the euro firmed on Monday with investors cautiously optimistic that euro zone finance ministers would reach a funding deal for debt-laden Greece.

Germany's Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said in a radio interview on Monday that he was not very optimistic that Greece and its euro zone partners would reach a debt agreement at a meeting in Brussels later in the day.

Japanese shares touched an eight-year high on Monday following a record close on Wall Street, with investors cautiously optimistic the European Union would make progress this week on a debt deal with Greece.

Sterling scaled a six-week peak early on Monday following recent hawkish-sounding comments from the Bank of England, while the other major currencies were subdued in a holiday-riddled week.

The coming week will go a long way to dictating whether Greece remains in the euro zone. A meeting of euro zone finance ministers on Monday is tasked with producing a deal that will keep Greece solvent and which is acceptable to both sides.

Asian shares gained on Friday on news of a ceasefire accord in Ukraine, while Sweden's surprise move to cut its main rate into negative territory and hopes of a resolution between debt-strapped Greece and its creditors burnished risk appetite.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has urged Greece's new leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to ensure protection of the rights of China's companies and backing for a key port project, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.