* Dollar falls vs basket after jump in housing data
* Stabilizing stocks erode safe-haven bid for US dollar
* Aussie dollar soars after RBA cuts rates 100 bps
(Recasts, adds comments, updates prices, changes byline)
By Wanfeng Zhou
NEW YORK, Feb 3 (Reuters) - The dollar fell versus a basket
of currencies on Tuesday after an unexpected jump in U.S.
pending home sales and fresh stimulative measures by central
banks worldwide eroded safe-haven flows into the greenback.
The currency market continued to take its cue from equity
trading. U.S. stocks extended their advance in afternoon
trading, boosting risk sentiment and easing demand for the
dollar and the yen, which are seen as safer places to park
money in times of stress.
"I'm seeing a stabilization in the equity markets and it
has to do with the much better-than-expected pending home
sales," said Andrew Busch, global FX strategist at BMO Capital
Markets in Chicago. "This is consistent with what we saw with
existing home sales and it comes on the heels of a
better-than-expected ISM manufacturing number yesterday."
"If we have a stabilization in the equity markets, then the
fear that caused people to buy U.S. dollars as a safe-haven
goes away."
In late trading in New York, the ICE Futures U.S. dollar
index, which tracks the value of the greenback against a basket
of currencies, fell 1.4 percent to 84.872 <.DXY>.
U.S. stock indexes also got a lift, pressuring the dollar
after news that a group of Republican senators offered a $445
billion alternative plan to boost the economy.
An announcement by the Bank of Japan of a plan to buy up to
1 trillion yen ($11 billion) in listed shares held by Japanese
banks and a deep interest rate cut in Australia also helped
boost sentiment earlier, analysts said. See [].
The euro was last up 1.5 percent versus the dollar <EUR=>
at $1.3038, after rising as high as $1.3056, according to
Reuters data. The dollar fell 0.2 percent to 89.29 yen <JPY=>.
"Euro/dollar has been trading on the back of risk aversion
and sentiment in the past couple of days. Any news that brings
risk aversion lower and helps lift stocks at this point will
hurt the dollar," said Matt Esteve, a foreign exchange trader
at Tempus Consulting in Washington.
Esteve said the euro could trade as high as $1.3250 in
coming weeks.
US HOUSING, ECB
Pending sales of existing U.S. homes rebounded in December
as buyers took advantage of lower prices and mortgage interest
rates. The National Association of Realtors Pending Home Sales
Index surged 6.3 percent in December. []
The housing report "is a real shot in the arm for (risk)
sentiment," said Brian Dolan, chief currency strategist at
Forex.com, in Bedminster, New Jersey. "In an otherwise bleak
landscape, this represents a ray of hope."
But gains in the euro were limited as many in the market
stayed sidelined before the European Central Bank's rate
decision on Thursday when it is widely expected to leave
interest rates on hold at 2 percent.
Figures on Tuesday showed euro zone producer prices fell a
bigger-than-expected 1.3 percent, while German retail sales
unexpectedly fell for a third straight month in December.
Lingering concerns also remain about the fiscal health of
economies on the fringes of the euro zone.
In other trading, the Australian dollar soared after the
Reserve Bank of Australia cut interest rates by 100 basis
points to a record low 3.25 percent []. The
Australian government also unveiled a $26.5 billion second
stimulus package on Tuesday. [].
The Australian dollar rose by 3.4 percent against its U.S.
counterpart to $0.6528 <AUD=>. An improvement in risk sentiment
also helped lift the higher-yielding New Zealand dollar, which
rose 1.8 percent to $0.5137 <NZD=>.
(Additional reporting by Vivianne Rodrigues and Steven C.
Johnson; Editing by Diane Craft)
