• The dollar firmed in Asian trading on Monday, pulling away from a two-week low against the yen but lacking momentum as investors awaited this week's speech by U.S. President Donald Trump for clues on tax reform.
Trump will make his first major policy address to Congress on Tuesday, which is expected to include some details of his infrastructure spending and tax plans. Some market participants worry that a lack of details could disappoint investors and weigh on the dollar.
The dollar edged up 0.1 percent to 112.04 yen, after falling as low as 111.925 yen on Friday, its first foray below the 112 level since Feb. 9.
The euro was steady on the day at $1.0562, as concerns about France's upcoming election continue to pressure the single currency.
• New U.S. single-family home sales rose less than expected in January, likely held back by heavy rains and flooding in California, but continued to point to a strengthening housing market despite higher prices and mortgage rates.
Other data on Friday showed a dip in consumer sentiment this month, though it remained at a level consistent with a healthy pace of consumer spending. The economy has gained momentum, supported by a labor market that is near full employment.
• President Donald Trump said he would make a massive budget request for one of the "greatest military buildups in American history" on Friday in a feisty, campaign-style speech extolling robust nationalism to eager conservative activists.
Trump used remarks to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), an organization that gave him one of his first platforms in his improbable journey to the U.S. presidency, to defend his unabashed "America first" policies.
Ahead of a nationally televised speech to Congress on Tuesday, Trump outlined plans for strengthening the U.S. military, already the world's most powerful fighting force, and other initiatives such as tax reform and regulatory rollback.
• U.S. President Donald Trump's first budget proposal will spare big social welfare programs such as Social Security and Medicare from any cuts, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in an interview broadcast on Sunday.
Mnuchin said Trump would also use a major policy speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night to preview some elements of his sweeping plans to cut taxes for the middle class, simplify the tax system and make American companies more globally competitive with lower rates and changes to encourage U.S. manufacturing.
• U.S. President Donald Trump's planned economic agenda has fanned the flames for Wall Street's record-setting run, but some investors worry that his first major address to Congress next week risks dousing it if his plans look slow to execute or are overly vague.
But there have been few specifics so far, and some investors believe Trump may need to provide more than just generalities when he gives his first major presidential address on Tuesday.
"If he comes out next week and there are little or no details other than that it is going to be great, that is going to be a time where we could have the first sort of crack in the armor," said JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade in Chicago.
• Oil prices fell on Friday after U.S. crude inventories rose for a seventh week, showing that the market is still struggling to ease oversupply despite many producers' efforts to rein in production.
Benchmark Brent crude oil <LCOc1> was down 30 cents at $56.28 a barrel by 1149 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate <CLc1> dropped by 26 cents to $54.19.
Reference: Reuters, Nasdaq
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