Dollar-euro flat, yen slips as US markets reopen

US markets were back up and running with few serious problems after the country's financial industry was shuttered Monday and Tuesday by the storm, which knocked out power for millions and flooded many East Coast areas.

At 2100 GMT, the euro was at $1.2958, compared to $1.2959 late Tuesday.

The dollar though pushed higher against the Japanese currency, to 79.78 yen from 79.61; the euro pushed to 103.39 yen from 103.18.

"The US dollar saw a choppy end to October trading, buffeted by sharp moves in the S&P 500 on the first day of NYSE trading following Hurricane Sandy-linked closures," said David Rodriguez of DailyFX.

"An overnight rally in S&P futures initially pushed the euro near multi-week highs versus the safe-haven US dollar, but the subsequent pullback left the EUR-USD almost exactly where it began."

The yen's slip came a day after the bank of Japan unveiled $138 billion in fresh monetary easing in its latest volley in a battle to kickstart the Japanese economy.

The BoJ said it would expand an asset-purchase program -- its main policy tool -- by 11 trillion yen ($138 billion) to 91 trillion yen, while keeping rates unchanged at between zero and 0.1 percent.

Rodriguez said over the next two days, traders will be focused on Friday's release of US jobs market data for October, as the Federal Reserve has tied its interest rate policy to improvement in the jobless rate.

"Expect any significant surprises to force sharp moves in the US currency as traders attempt to telegraph the US Federal Reserve's next steps," he said.

The British pound pushed higher on the dollar, to $1.6127 from $1.6073, while the dollar edged slightly lower to 0.9314 Swiss francs.