NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--The euro surged higher against the Japanese yen and Swiss franc Tuesday as a buoyant start-of-year tone led investors away from traditional safe harbors into higher-yielding assets. Strong gains in global stock markets, propped by encouraging data, helped the common currency claw its way from recent all-time lows against the franc to gain more than 1.5% on the Swiss currency and more than 0.8% on the yen. The euro also marched modestly higher against the dollar, to trade at $1.3404 from $1.3353 late Monday, according to EBS via CQG. The dollar was at Y82.13 from Y81.73, while the euro was at Y110.09 from Y109.17. The U.K. pound was at $1.5618 from $1.5476. The dollar was at CHF0.9455 from CHF0.9343. The ICE Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a trade-weighted basket of currencies, was at 79.025 from 79.211. The pound was boosted by data that showed the U.K.'s manufacturing sector expanded at the fastest rate for more than 16 years in December, helping soothe at least temporarily some nerves that the U.K.'s massive belt-tightening austerity plans would squelch growths. The Australian dollar, though, missed out on the rally in higher-yielding assets, declining about 0.8% against the greenback by early North American trading. Investors worry massive flooding in parts of Australia could dent economic output. To help determine whether the rosier sentiment will continue, investors will look to the 10 a.m. release of U.S. factory orders for November, which are expected to tick down slightly. If U.S. and global data continue to support risk sentiment, BNP Paribas analysts said the euro could gain to $1.36 in the near-term. "Markets have started the New Year with a general positive assessment of economic growth," they said. The Federal Reserve's policy setting committee also releases the minutes of its last meeting, expected at 2 p.m. EST. Investors will be paying close attention to remarks by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. If he signals any warnings about recent gains in the U.S. Treasury yields, the greenback could fall back, said Barclays Capital's chief currency strategist Masafumi Yamamoto. -By Bradley Davis, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2654; bradley.davis@dowjones.com --Takashi Mochizuki in Tokyo contributed to this report.

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