By MarketWatch TOKYO (MarketWatch) - The dollar gained on its European counterpart in Asian trading Friday, ahead of meetings of the Group of Eight and Group of Twenty leading industrialized nations in Toronto. G-8 will focus its meetings Friday on security and development, especially the health of mothers and children. The G-20 sessions will discuss policies on energy, climate change and trade, as well as peace and security. Read G-8, G-20 preview. The euro (CUR_EURUSD 1.2267, -0.0059, -0.4787%) was buying $1.2332, compared with $1.2333 in late North American trading on Thursday. The dollar index (DXY 86.01, +0.28, +0.32%) , which tracks the U.S. unit against six major counterparts, rose to 85.751 from 85.730 late Thursday. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar (CUR_USDYEN) rose to ¥89.68 from ¥89.43. "Although the lack of yield support will probably leave USD-JPY [U.S. dollar-Japanese yen] top-heavy in the immediate period ahead, JPY gains should reverse as mild risk aversion driven by growth concerns is likely to recede," said Tomoko Fujii, a rates and currency strategist at Bank of America Securities-Merrill Lynch, in emailed comments. The pound (CUR_GBPUSD 1.4901, -0.0021, -0.1407%) slipped to $1.4929, from $1.4936 late Thursday. The Aussie (CUR_AUDUSD 0.8613, -0.0051, -0.5886%) bought 86.44 U.S. cents, down from 86.74 U.S. cents Thursday. China's central bank set the midpoint of its daily trading range for the U.S. dollar at 6.7896 yuan Friday, a record low. The People's Bank of China's daily official rate -- from which the greenback is permitted to rise or fall a maximum of 0.5% -- compared to a 6.8100 yuan rate set Thursday. The U.S. dollar fell versus the euro on Thursday, after stocks headed south following a report on jobless claims and mildly better-than-expected data on U.S. durable-goods orders. See Thursday's Currencies report.

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