The dollar, marking its highest levels against the euro and Japanese yen since early December, gained ground against most major global currencies Monday, boosted by hopes for a large-scale stimulus plan to jolt the U.S. economy. President-elect Barack Obama took his plan for $300 billion in tax cuts to Capitol Hill on Monday, reaching out to lawmakers in an effort to win approval for a massive stimulus plan he says is needed to jump-start the stalling economy. "[The] dollar was boosted in part by ongoing talk of a big fiscal package from the incoming Obama administration, and we think gains will be sustained in 2009," wrote currency strategists at Brown Brothers Harriman in a note to clients Monday. Obama plans to spend about $775 billion over two years, putting people to work on infrastructure projects and giving aid to states. In all, the tax cuts or breaks would account for about 40% of the value of the stimulus. Read more on Obama's stimulus pitch. U.S. stocks ended lower Monday, playing off downbeat sales data reported by automakers, though global stocks advanced earlier on hopes raised by Obama's stimulus plans. See Market Snapshot. See Europe Markets. The dollar moved up 1.8% to 93.41 yen, after earlier rising as high as 93.54 yen. The euro skidded 2.4% to $1.3588, after earlier falling as low as $1.3544. The dollar index , a measure of the dollar against a trade-weighted index of six major currencies, was up 0.1% on the day at 82.734. But the dollar gave ground against the recently embattled British pound, which rose 0.9% to $1.4682. The gains come ahead of Thursday's meeting of the Bank of England, with many expecting a half-point rate cut from the central bank. "Although the BOE is expected to cut rates this week, there is more chatter, particularly following last week's sobering credit conditions survey, about other policy measures by the BOE and the U.K. government to attempt to spur bank lending," said David Watt, senior currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets. U.S. payrolls data loom Daragh Maher, strategist at Calyon Bank, said the euro and other currencies appeared to have enjoyed overextend gains against the dollar ahead of the Christmas holidays. After they failed to establish new highs in post-holiday action, traders were eager to "jump on the bandwagon" and propel the dollar higher in the short term, he said. Maher added he would be inclined to buy the dollar on dips but would be reluctant to chase the currency aggressively higher. On the U.S. data front on Monday, a Commerce Department report showed outlays for construction projects fell by a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 0.6% in November, cut by a drop in spending on home construction. See Economic Report. With U.S. nonfarm payrolls data due at the end of the week and upcoming minutes from the Federal Reserve's December meeting likely to reinforce expectations of quantitative easing, the upside for the greenback is likely to be limited, Maher said. Economists polled by MarketWatch are expecting Friday's report to show a drop of 500,000 jobs, which would mean that more than 2 million jobs were lost in 2008. In November, 533,000 nonfarm payroll jobs were lost, the most for a single month since 1974. See Economic Preview on nonfarm payroll jobs. "It could get much worse for the U.S. as unemployment seems set to climb a lot higher," wrote Jack Crooks, president of Black Swan Capital, an independent currency advisory and trading firm. "But keep in mind, it's all relative. And relative to the potential for a lot more pain elsewhere, U.S. financial assets could surprise. It's why we remain bullish on the dollar," Crooks said.

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