Euro strengthens

TOKYO: The euro held near two-year highs against the dollar on Friday after the head of the European Central Bank said tapering of its stimulus will be on the table this autumn, while a solid global economic outlook kept Asian share prices near decade highs.

Although ECB President Mario Draghi set no date for changes to the bond-buying plan, investors took his comments on Thursday as confirming their expectations that the discussions would lead to monetary tightening next year.

"Although bond markets didn´t take his comments as something particularly new, the currency market liked the fact that Draghi confirmed his stance towards tapering," said Daisuke Uno, chief strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Bank. By late Asian trade, the euro stood at $1.1630, maintaining its 1 percent gain on Thursday, its biggest since June 27, when Draghi first sparked expectations that the ECB will dial back its bond buying scheme.

Signs of steady global growth, which have prompted the ECB and a couple of other major central banks to signal future tightening since last month, have kept the world´s shares on firm footing.