The U.S. dollar edged up on Thursday, reversing its recent decline, after U.S. President Donald Trump backed a strong dollar, and the S&P 500 gave back gains on the comments before eking out a record-high close. The U.S. dollar was up 0.17 percent against a basket of major currencies after Trump told CNBC in an interview in Davos, Switzerland, he wants to see a strong dollar. The comments came a day after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, also in Davos, made a major departure from traditional U.S. currency policy, saying "obviously, a weaker dollar is good for us as it relates to trade and opportunities." Mnuchin's comments drove further losses in the dollar on Wednesday, which gave the currency its biggest daily percentage drop in seven months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 140.67 points, or 0.54 percent, to end at 26,392.79, the S&P 500 gained 1.71 points, or 0.06 percent, to 2,839.25 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 3.90 points, or 0.05 percent, to 7,411.16. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index lost 0.60 percent and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe gained 0.13 percent. The euro was down 0.09 percent to $1.2395. Earlier, the euro rose to its highest in three years after the European Central Bank showed little concern about the euro zone single currency's hottest run in nearly four years. U.S. benchmark 10-year notes last rose 9/32 in price to yield 2.6207 percent, from 2.654 percent late Wednesday. Oil retreated as the U.S. dollar rebounded from early losses and strengthened, denting support for the latest crude rally. Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, settled down 11 cents at $70.42 a barrel. U.S. crude futures for March delivery fell 10 cents to settle at $65.51.
