* Euro falls vs dollar, yen after Easter holiday
* Euro falls 0.6 pct vs dlr <EUR=>, down 0.8 pct vs yen
* Strong Goldman results lifts sentiment towards financials
* U.S. retail sales data in focus at 1230 GMT
(Adds quote, updates prices)
By Tamawa Desai
LONDON, April 14 (Reuters) - The euro fell against the
dollar and the yen on Tuesday as investors shrugged off rises in
European equity markets and stayed cautious ahead of a string of
upcoming U.S. corporate earnings.
Investor wariness stoked some demand for the perceived
safety of the U.S. dollar as well as the yen, while it pressured
the euro and other currencies seen as higher risk -- such as the
Australian dollar.
The euro also fell on technical factors after failing to
extend gains on Monday that took it close to $1.34 against the
dollar, its highest level in nearly a week, after
forecast-busting Goldman Sachs <GS.N> results fanned optimism
about the outlook for financial firms. []
"The currency market has traded and will trade on earnings
results, and any surprise to the upside would work against the
dollar," said Adarsh Sinha, currency strategist at Barclays
Capital.
"The euro made a big move yesterday but of very low
liquidity. The moves today are more of a bit of pay back from
that," he added.
Others added that caution ahead of a raft of other U.S.
corporate results to come and ongoing worries about a shaky
global economy prevented the single currency from moving higher,
even as European shares jumped by nearly 2 percent <>.
"Euro/dollar has been a bit choppy over the last week, which
is an indication that people are not sure of the near-term
direction despite the nice Goldman results," said Niels
Christensen, Nordea currency strategist in Copenhagen.
Earnings due later in the day include those of Intel
<INTC.O> and Johnson & Johnson <JNJ.N>, while the market was
also awaiting March U.S. retail sales data due at 1230 GMT for
any signs of a recovery in consumer spending.
By 1152 GMT, the euro fell 0.6 percent against the dollar to
$1.3278 <EUR=> and by 0.8 percent versus the yen at 132.53 yen
<EURJPY=R>.
The dollar also fell 0.2 percent against the yen to 99.80
yen <JPY=>, though its broad gains against other currencies
pushed it higher on a trade-weighted basis to 84.814 <.DXY>.
Although this leaves currencies out of step with current
trends in equities -- where gains usually lift higher-risk FX --
analysts expect stock market trends to provide direction in the
coming days, in the absence of any other major drivers.
GOLDMAN BOOST FADES
Goldman posted a higher-than-expected $1.7 billion profit on
Monday which helped to lift sentiment, particularly coming on
the back of last week's announcement by Wells Fargo <WFC.N> that
it expects to post a record $3 billion first-quarter profit.
The news initially boosted higher risk currencies against
the dollar and the yen, taking the Australian dollar to 73.49
yen <AUDJPY=R>, its highest since mid-October.
The boost faded on Tuesday, however, with the Aussie dollar
last down 0.1 percent at 72.99 yen, as investors looked ahead to
results later this week from beleaguered Citigroup <C.N>, as
well as JP Morgan <JPM.N> and blue chip General Electric <GE.N>.
"The Goldman report encouraged sentiment towards the
financial sector, but the market will need more positive news to
give it any direction," Stockholm-based SEB currency strategist
Johan Javeus said.
Sterling bucked the trend among higher-risk currencies,
however, with gains in UK shares <> -- and particularly
significant gains in financial stocks -- helping the pound to a
five-week high of 89.28 pence per euro <GBPEUR=>.
Traders will also watch for U.S. retail sales data for cues.
Retail sales are expected to have risen 0.3 percent in March
from the previous month. Excluding autos, sales are expected to
be flat from February.
(Additional reporting by Jessica Mortimer; Editing by Victoria
Main)
