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 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."

Interest rates in many countries and the eurozone are higher than the current rock-bottom U.S. rates, providing currency traders a better return on non-dollar holdings. They're likelier to sell the dollar and buy up stocks and other currencies when they feel more confident about the state of the broader economy, which has been the general trend since spring.

"Expect positive U.S. data this week to feed into continued USD selling," wrote Michael Woolfolk, senior currency strategist at Bank of New York Mellon, in a research note.

On Thursday, a report from the Conference Board pointed at growth in the future. The private research group said its leading indicators, a measure of future economic activity, rose 1 percent in September, the sixth straight monthly gain.

But the number of Americans filing for first-time jobless aid rose more than expected as employers remain reluctant to hire. Unemployment, currently at 9.8 percent, is expected to rise above 10 percent this year or early in 2010 and remain at high levels for years.

Meanwhile, earnings from makers of consumer goods, suppliers of business services and banks painted a mixed picture. McDonald's Corp. said sales in U.S. restaurants may flatline or drop in October, and it is curbing expansion plans. Xerox Corp.'s third quarter showed companies are still cautious about spending on technology. Some big airlines posted losses, and banks' loan losses grew. But AT&T Inc. added 2 million wireless subscribers, matching last year's pace. Kimberly-Clark Corp., which makes Huggies and Kleenex, posted higher profit.

China's recovery has helped power worldwide growth - but now some are afraid the government could begin to withdraw its massive stimulus, say Brown Brothers Harriman analysts. Its economy grew 8.9 percent in the third quarter, boosting sales of products around the world. U.S. manufacturer Caterpillar Inc., for example, raised its outlook for the year because of performance in Asia. If the government retracts its stimulus, some fear that could tamp down the global recovery.

The U.S. currency has also been under pressure in recent weeks amid growing talk about its future as the world's reserve currency. Robert Zoellick, a former U.S. trade representative who now heads the World Bank, has warned that the currency's status as the world's leading reserve currency should not be taken for granted.

In other late trading Thursday, the dollar also edged up to 1.0486 Canadian dollars from 1.0391, and was barely changed at 1.0048 Swiss francs compared with 1.0047 it bought late Wednesday.

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.