* Dollar index hits 6-week high, Aussie hits 6-week low * Dexia deal problems bring focus on France's ratings * German and French manufacturing PMI bode ill for euro By Anirban Nag LONDON, Nov 23 (Reuters) - The euro fell on Wednesday, while safe-haven currencies like the U.S. dollar and the yen gained on renewed concerns about the stability of the European banking sector and signs that global growth was slowing. Belgian newspaper De Standaard reported Belgium and France were in fresh talks to rescue ailing bank Dexia, raising concerns about an additional fiscal burden for France and bringing its triple-A rating in focus. Although it also said that Belgium's finance minister Didier Reynders denied that the accord reached between the two states to rescue the bank would be dismantled, it did little to provide investors already bearish on euro zone assets any relief. French and Belgian 10-year government bond spreads over their German counterparts rose, highlighting widespread concerns that the deteriorating sovereign debt problems would eventually ensnare the banking sector. Risk appetite took a further hit after the HSBC flash manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) showed China's factory sector shrank the most in 32 months in November as new orders slumped. As a result, the euro was down 0.4 percent against the dollar at $1.3456, nearing support at last week's low of $1.3421 on trading platform EBS. Its drop pushed the dollar index to a fresh six-week high of 78.582. Against the yen, the euro was also 0.4 percent lower at 103.57 yen. "The talk about Dexia and the Chinese flash PMI are the two factors that are driving risk-off trade," said Jeremy Stretch, head of currency strategy at CIBC World Markets. "Euro flash PMIs are not looking good and this will not help matters either. Model funds are looking to buy dollars and investors will be looking to sell into any rebound in the euro." He added that if the euro dropped below $1.3420, then it could see it weaken to around the mid-$1.33. German flash manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell to 47.9 in November, weaker than the 48.5 forecast and hitting its lowest level since July 2009. The manufacturing sector contracted for a second straight month as export demand slumped and highlighted broader concerns that the euro zone was headed towards a recession. . BRITTLE The deterioration in activity does not bode well for the euro which has been trading on either side of $1.3500 for days now, underpinned by talks of repatriation flows from European banks and a reluctance by speculators to add to more bearish positions in an already short market. But persistent worries over the euro zone's debt crisis and signs of dollar funding strains have kept sentiment brittle. Add to that fresh speculation that France's triple-A rating could come under threat, investors are likely to sell into any upticks in the euro towards the $1.35 mark, analysts said. "Broadly speaking, certainly anything that threatens France's credit status is likely to be taken as negative for the euro," said Todd Elmer, currency strategist at Citi in Singapore. The Australian dollar extended its losses on the data and touched a six-week low of $0.9751 at one point. The Australian dollar is sensitive to shifts in China's economic fundamentals since China is a major buyer of Australia's commodity exports. Commodity currencies have also come under pressure as investors frustrated with the euro's resilience have sought to sell them in a bid to cut exposure to risk. With Tokyo players away for a national holiday in Japan, moves in the dollar versus the yen were subdued, with the dollar holding steady at 76.99 yen.

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