Asia stocks stay near highs, though Tokyo slides; dollar slips

Asia stocks stayed closed to a decade-long peak on Thursday following another record-breaking day on Wall Street, though Japan’s Nikkei slid back from a 26-year high in volatile trading, hit by profit-taking.

The dollar slipped amid uncertainty over the fate of the U.S. tax reform plans, while the New Zealand dollar rallied as hawkish-sounding statements by the country’s central bank boosted the recently-battered currency. 

Spreadbetters expected Britain's FTSE .FTSE to open 0.2 percent lower, Germany's DAX .GDAXI to open down 0.03 percent and a flat start for France's CAC .FCHI. 

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was up 0.2 percent and in close reach of a 10-year high set the previous day, taking cues from overnight Wall Street gains. 

Australian shares rose 0.55 percent and to their highest level since January 2008. South Korea's KOSPI .KS11, which had a succession of record highs in past weeks, handed back earlier gains and was flat. 

Shanghai .SSEC dipped 0.1 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng .HSI climbed 0.6 percent.

Japan's Nikkei .N225 initially surged 2 percent to reach a high not seen since January 1992 but reversed course and ended the day down 0.2 percent.

Among currencies, the New Zealand dollar was a big mover, surging about 1 percent to a two-week high of $0.6974 NZD=D4 before last trading at $0.6956. 

The kiwi flew after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) said early on Thursday that added fiscal stimulus and a lower local dollar would lead to faster inflation and likely an earlier rise in interest rates. 

On Thursday, the central bank held rates steady at 1.75 percent, as widely expected. In late October, the New Zealand dollar sunk to a five-month low of $0.6818 as a change in government unsettled investors.