MW: Dollar edges down against most rivals, gains vs. yen
By Lisa Twaronite, MarketWatch
TOKYO (MarketWatch) - The dollar edged down in Asian trading Tuesday, though it gained against its lower-yielding Japanese counterpart as Asian equities markets turned higher, increasing investors' interest in riskier, high-yielding assets.
The dollar index (DXY 80.13, -0.18, -0.22%) , which tracks the greenback against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, fell to 80.091 from 80.309 in late North American trading on Monday.
But most major currencies remained in narrow ranges, as investors were wary of taking aggressive new positions after a late sell-off in U.S. equity markets. That sell-off preceded testimony from U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke scheduled for Tuesday.
"Overall, the tone was cautious, particularly after Wall Street's late slide, which came on leverage account selling and some position adjustment ahead of today's testimony," said analysts at Action Economics.
The euro was buying $1.3721, up from $1.3674 late Monday.
The dollar bought 89.54 yen, up from 89.39 yen late Monday.
On Monday, the dollar declined slightly as investors reconsidered the impact of fiscal problems in some of Europe's smaller economies, or a possible rescue effort from their stronger neighbors, that drove the greenback to a seven-month high versus major rivals last week.
