FOREX-Dollar falls as risk-on move boosts stocks

* Dollar index slips
* Yen strongest in a week
* Nasdaq hits all-time high
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E

(New throughout)
By Kate Duguid
NEW YORK, Aug 17 (Reuters) - The dollar traded lower on
Monday as a risk-on moved tamped down appetite for the
safe-haven asset and bolstered U.S. stocks, sending the Nasdaq
to an all-time high.
In addition to the Nasdaq index .IXIC high, the S&P 500
index .SPX just missed its own record level, with both indexes
lifted by Nvidia NVDA.O and other technology stocks.
The risk-on move in stocks helped drive the dollar index
=USD which was 0.21% lower on the day to trade at 92.817. The
safe-haven Japanese yen JPY= however was exempt from the move,
last up 0.56% to a one-week high of 105.98, as were Treasury
yields.
"What you've seen today is a continuation of a dollar
risk-on move where the dollar has been selling off," said Chuck
Tomes, portfolio manager at Manulife Investment Management,
noting that the move was exacerbated by thin trading volume.
The afternoon losses added to the dollar's slight move
lower on Monday morning after weak results from a regional
manufacturing survey added to doubts that the U.S. recovery is
on shaky grounds.
The New York Fed's Empire State business conditions index
fell to 3.7 in August versus 17.2 in July, and far lower than
the 15 points forecast by a Reuters survey of economists. The
reading indicates a slowdown in the manufacturing sector though
the results were partially offset by strong housing data
released earlier on Monday. U.S. homebuilder confidence rose for a third straight month
in August to match a record high as record-low interest rates
spur a surge in customer traffic, especially in suburban markets
that are growing in appeal as a result of the coronavirus
pandemic. Going forward, investors will be focused this week on the
release of minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's last policy
meeting and the U.S. Democratic Party's nominating convention.
"The U.S. dollar nursed a weak bias with attention on U.S.
politics and Fed policy," said Joe Manimbo, senior market
analyst at Western Union Business Solutions.
Markets are looking to the Fed minutes, due to be released
on Wednesday, for any clues about an anticipated shift in the
policy outlook. Speculation is rife the U.S. central bank will
adopt an average inflation target, which would seek to push
inflation above 2% for some time to make up for the years it has
run below.