By Lisa Twaronite, MarketWatch
TOKYO (MarketWatch) -- The dollar gained on most major rivals in Asian trading Wednesday, ceding ground to the yen but jumping against the euro as investors continued to sell the European unit on fears about Greece.
A sell-off in Chinese stocks also benefited lower-yielding currencies, such as the dollar and yen, which tend to benefit whenever investors are more risk averse and seek assets that are perceived to be safer.
Euro sentiment "remains negative and if [economic] data does not offer a glimmer of hope sometime soon, the markets may want to take a run at the psychologically important 1.4000 level in the near future," said Boris Schlossberg, director of currency research at GFT, in emailed comments.
The dollar index (DXY 77.87, +0.37, +0.47%) was at 77.951, up from 77.451 in late North American trading Tuesday. The index tracks the dollar against a trade-weighted basket of six major rivals.
The euro slumped to $1.4180, down from $1.4301 late Tuesday, and the British pound fell to $1.6254 from $1.6369.
But the dollar slipped against its Japanese currency, trading at 90.84 yen, down from 91.13 yen late Tuesday.
On Tuesday, the dollar firmed against most major counterparts, with the gains especially strong against the euro amid continued worry about Greek debt and further signs that Germany's economic recovery may be losing momentum. See Tuesday's Currencies report.
