* Draghi says ECB to discuss tapering in autumn
* Dollar, U.S. shares not helped by U.S. political woes
* European bonds firm after ECB
By Hideyuki Sano
TOKYO, July 21 (Reuters) - 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.
While ECB President Mario Draghi set no date for changes to the bond-buying plan, investors took his comments 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.
In early 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.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan , which has gained about 5 percent in the past two weeks, eased 0.1 percent as regional markets opened.
Japan's Nikkei dropped 0.3 percent as the yen rose against the dollar.
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe gained for a 10 straight session on Thursday, its longest such streak since February 2015. It has advanced 3.1 percent during the latest rally.
On Wall Street, the major indexes were almost flat.
Not helping U.S. shares were concerns about U.S. President Donald Trump's inability to push his through healthcare reform bills, the passage of which will be needed to finance his tax cut plans.
The dollar was also dogged by similar concerns, with its index against a basket of major six currencies hitting its lowest level since August on Thursday.
Against the yen, the U.S. currency hit a three-week low of 111.48 yen even after the Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda dropped no hint of following other central banks in curtailing many years of stimulus.
While the euro gained sharply on Draghi's comments, global bond markets reacted more calmly, partly as he did not give a clear signal on when the ECB will announce its tapering.
The 10-year U.S. Treasuries yield dropped to 2.238 percent, its lowest in three weeks.
The 10-year German Bund yield also ended down at 0.531 percent, from close of 0.543 percent the day before.