By Deborah Levine
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. dollar turned higher versus the euro but extended losses against the Japanese yen on Friday after the U.S. consumer sentiment index unexpectedly declined in early August to 63.2 from 66.0 in July, according to the Reuters/University of Michigan index. The dollar bought 94.59 Japanese yen, down from 95.32 yen in North American trade late Thursday. It rose 0.45 versus the euro to $1.4226. The dollar index [s $dxy], which measures the U.S. unit against a basket of six major currencies, stood at 78.608, from 78.390 on Thursday. The data pushed U.S. stocks lower, aiding the dollar which has tended for months to move in the opposite direction as equities as investors' willingness to buy riskier assets fluctuates.
