1. Trump disappoint investors

Global stock markets edged lower on Thursday, as a long-awaited U.S. tax cut plan from the Trump Administration failed to inspire investors, who were disappointed by the lack of new details.

Asian equities eased from a near two-year high, with Japan's Nikkei closing down about 0.3%, while the Shanghai Composite in China tacked on around 0.4%.

In Europe, stocks declined in mid-morning trade, moving away from multi-year highs, with Germany's DAX down 0.3%, while London's FTSE 100 slumped 0.7%.

On Wall Street, the blue-chip Dow futures eased up 8 points to 20,983 by 09:25 GMT, the S&P 500 futures dipped 2 points, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures fell 2 points.

The Dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six rival currencies, was at 98.85 in New York morning trade, not far from the prior session's 5-month low of 98.61.

2. ECB press conference eyed

The European Central Bank's latest interest rate decision is due at 11:45 GMT on Thursday. Most of the focus will likely be on President Mario Draghi's press conference 45 minutes after the announcement.

The ECB is set to keep its ultra-easy policy stance firmly in place but may acknowledge better growth prospects, setting the stage for a small signal as early as June about an eventual reduction of stimulus amid receding political risk after the first round of France's presidential vote put a pro-euro centrist in pole position.

The single currency was steady against the dollar at 1.0903. Against the British pound, the euro lost about 0.4% to 0.8455.

3. Economics and earnings ahead

Thursday's blast of high-profile earnings, including big tech giants, could help set the stage for new stock market highs in the days ahead.

Companies set to report ahead of the opening bell include Ford, Comcast, UPS, Dow Chemical, Under Armour, American Airlines, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Raytheon to name a few.

More big companies report after the closing bell and could offer further boost to markets. That includes Amazon.com, up 21% year to date, and Alphabet, which has risen 12%. Microsoft, Intel, Expedia, Baidu, GoPro and Starbucks also report after the close.

On the data front, Thursday's calendar includes March durable goods orders, weekly jobless claims and advanced trade figures, all at 12:30 GMT.

Economists have been cutting forecasts for first-quarter GDP, expected Friday, in the wake of a recent string of disappointing data.

4. NAFTA relief boosts CAD

The Canadian dollar and Mexican peso, which had slumped late Wednesday on reports the U.S. is considering withdrawing from the North American Free Trade Agreement, bounced sharply after Trump said he would not scrap the pact but renegotiate instead.

The Canadian dollar rose 0.3% to 1.3575 against its U.S. counterpart. The loonie had initially weakened to a 14-month low of 1.3646 late Wednesday.

The Mexican currency strengthened 0.9% to 19.00 pesos per dollar after sinking to a more than one-month low of 19.22 overnight.