* Dollar falls vs most major currencies
* Risky currencies like Aussie dollar, Norwegian crown spike
(New throughout, updates prices, market activity, comments to
U.S. market open; new byline, changes dateline; previous LONDON)
By Saqib Iqbal Ahmed
NEW YORK, May 26 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar fell across the
board on Tuesday as optimism about a potential coronavirus
vaccine and a reopening world economy helped investors shrug off
Chinese-U.S. tensions, sapping demand for safe-haven assets.
The U.S. Dollar Currency Index =USD , which measures the
greenback's strength against six other major currencies, was
0.77% lower at 98.968, after slipping as low as 98.949, its
weakest since May 1.
Investors' increased appetite for risky assets sent stock
markets across the globe higher, and commodity markets rallied.
The S&P 500 index .SPX rose above the 3,000 level for the
first time since March 5, as U.S. biotech corporation Novavax
Inc NVAX.O became the latest company to join the race to test
coronavirus vaccine candidates on humans and enrolled its first
participants. "Major currency movement is as one would expect on a day of
strong equity gains; the USD is broadly lower," said Shaun
Osborne, chief foreign exchange strategist at Scotia Bank.
Chinese-U.S. tensions have been simmering in the background
as the United States repeatedly criticized Beijing's handling of
the coronavirus outbreak, but investors have largely shrugged
them off.
Data on Tuesday showed U.S. consumer confidence nudged up in
May, suggesting the worst of the novel coronavirus-driven
economic slump was potentially in the past as the country starts
to reopen. The dollar has remained in a narrow range since the end of
March.
On Tuesday, the euro EUR= was 0.87% higher against the
greenback after the Ifo institute said German exporters
recovered somewhat in May after a "catastrophic" April.
The trade-sensitive Australian AUD=D3 and New Zealand
dollars NZD=D3 and Norwegian crown NOK=D3 each rose more
than 1% versus the U.S. dollar.
The dollar was about flat on the day against the Japanese
yen JPY= a day after Japan ended its state of emergency
The weaker greenback helped the British pound rise 1.43% to
$1.2356. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
GRAPHIC: World FX rates in 2020 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
GRAPHIC: Range-bound dollar https://tmsnrt.rs/36wqDV3
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