-- Nervous markets skeptical about proposal to "leverage" EFSF -- Euro comes under pressure, other sentiment-linked currencies hold onto gains -- Spanish, Italian Treasury Bill auctions went okay -- Greek vote on property tax is scheduled later Tuesday By Jessica Mead Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--The euro came under pressure during a headline-driven European session Tuesday as markets treated the proposal to beef up the euro zone's rescue fund with some skepticism. Growing hopes for an expanded European Financial Stability Facility for the euro zone had supported the single currency in Asian trading but European traders were more pessimistic about the chances of drawing a line under the region's crisis. "What has actually changed? There's still no grand solution and that's why we're getting some slippage," said Daragh Maher, senior currency strategist at Credit Agricole in London. Euro-zone politicians aren't moving quickly or boldly enough for the market's liking. "We're trying to reconcile [the] market need for instant gratification with the speed at which European political decision-making happens...Europe's leaders are trying to push EFSF reforms past reluctant parliaments and don't want to even think about EFSF-on-steroids until that's done," said Kit Juckes, chief currency strategist at Societe Generale. These misgivings were confined to the euro, though, as other relatively risky currencies like the Australian dollar and New Zealand dollar climbed in line with European equity markets, having tumbled last week. With markets still nervous, headlines were a key driver for the euro. The single currency fell sharply after Spanish Finance Minister Elena Salgado dismissed talk of a huge expansion of the EFSF bailout facility to as much as EUR2 trillion. But decent enough Spanish and Italian Treasury Bill auctions helped stem the euro's fall and Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou's vow that Greece will deliver on all its austerity pledges didn't do the currency any harm either. "We have seen some kind of consolidation and a bit more poise come into the market. But the underlying theme remains 'buy the dollar and sell the euro on rallies'," said Credit Agricole's Maher. In the upcoming session, the key focus will be on a Greek vote on property taxes scheduled for between 1500 and 1700 GMT. Slovenia and Cyprus also hold votes on the EFSF. These need to go smoothly to prevent the euro from falling, say strategists. Any hint of a wobble or dissent would be negative news for the currency. There is also U.S. data on the slate with the August Chicago Fed Manufacturing Index at 1230 GMT, the July S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index at 1300 GMT and U.S. September consumer confidence at 1400 GMT. Atlanta Federal Reserve President Lockhart is due to speak on the U.S. economy at 1600 GMT. At 1039 GMT, the euro was trading at $1.3503 against the dollar, compared with $1.3533 late Monday in New York, according to trading system EBS. The dollar was at Y76.45 against the yen, compared with Y76.35, while the euro was at Y103.26 compared with Y103.33. Meanwhile, the pound was trading at $1.5539 against the dollar, compared with $1.5563 late Monday in New York. The ICE Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies, was at 78.108 compared with 78.000 late Monday in New York. A summary of key levels for chart-watching technical strategists is below: Forex spot: EUR/USD USD/JPY GBP/USD USD/CHF Spot 1018 GMT 1.3508 76.45 1.5536 0.9038 3 Day Trend Bearish Range Bullish Range Weekly Trend Bearish Bearish Bearish Bullish 200 day ma 1.4035 80.34 1.6078 0.8773 3rd Resistance 1.3646 76.89 1.5685 0.9183 2nd Resistance 1.3608 76.80 1.5650 0.9144 1st Resistance 1.3570 76.56 1.5597 0.9083 Pivot* 1.3493 76.44 1.5523 0.9055 1st Support 1.3481 76.21 1.5484 0.8995 2nd Support 1.3425 76.10 1.5435 0.8956 3rd Support 1.3360 75.94 1.5389 0.8875 Forex spot: USD Index Spot 1018 GMT 78.119 3 Day Trend Bearish Weekly Trend Bullish 200 day ma 76.160 3rd Resistance 78.863 2nd Resistance 78.528 1st Resistance 78.245 Pivot* 78.274 1st Support 77.834 2nd Support 77.662 3rd Support 77.383 -By Jessica Mead, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0) 20 7842 9256, jessica.mead@dowjones.com (Dow Jones Technical Strategist Francis Bray contributed to this story.)

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