Dollar Gains Slightly, Circles Euro At $1.50

NEW YORK (AP) — The dollar pushed back slightly Thursday, but the euro was still hovering around $1.50 as corporate results and economic data sent investors mixed signals on the U.S. economy, and some worried China might cut down on stimulus measures.

In late New York trading, the 16-nation euro dipped to $1.5026 from $1.5036 late Wednesday. It peaked at a 14-month high of $1.5046 earlier in the session.

The British pound gave back some ground, dropping to $1.6624 from $1.6631, while the dollar rose to 91.29 Japanese yen from 91.06 yen.

The euro's break above the psychologically important level of $1.50 came as a rallying stock market further sapped the U.S. currency's appeal as a safe-haven investment.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 131.95 points, or 1.3 percent, to 10,081.31 on Thursday, just shy of its highest close of the year, which it set Monday.

"The dollar will continue to weaken as investors see there's better returns to be had elsewhere," said David Gilmore of Foreign Exchange Analytics in Essex, Conn. "It's an incredibly one-way market as people have come back into a risk-taking mode."