Early trade in New York: dollar weakens as stock gains show improving risk sentiment

The US dollar index dropped to more than two-week lows on Tuesday while emerging market currencies outperformed, as rising stock markets reflected improving risk appetite. US stocks opened higher, led by technology stocks, as upbeat earnings from blue-chip companies helped ease jitters over the impact of an ongoing US-China trade war and other global issues on corporate profits.
"It seems as if we have a 'risk on' tone. Equity prices seem to be rising globally again and reversing a little bit of the panic that we saw last week," said Mark McCormick, North American head of FX strategy at TD Securities in Toronto.
The greenback was supported last week as benchmark 10-year Treasury yields surged to a seven-year high of 3.26 percent, while stocks tumbled.
Yields are now consolidating at around 3.16 percent, reducing demand for the dollar. The better risk tone on Tuesday also reduced demand for safe haven currencies the Japanese yen and Swiss franc.
"It's a lack of negative headlines today, which if anything else is just a change from what we've seen," said Erik Nelson, a currency strategist at Wells Fargo in New York. "The risk sensitive emerging currencies are particularly outperforming while the yen and the Swiss franc are on the soft side."
The New Zealand dollar advanced against the greenback as the domestic inflation rate came in higher than expected in the third quarter.