By William L. Watts and V. Phani Kumar, MarketWatch FRANKFURT (MarketWatch)—The U.S. dollar rose further against several major rivals Wednesday after Federal Reserve minutes showed more asset purchases were unlikely, but fell against the yen on risk-aversion as global equity markets dropped. The ICE dollar index DXY +0.51% , a gauge of the greenback’s performance against a basket of six major rivals, rose to 79.586 from 79.410 late in North American trade Tuesday. The minutes sent Asian equities lower and weighed on European markets. The minutes were released during Tuesday’s U.S. trading session and weighed on Wall Street. Stock futures pointed to hefty opening losses for U.S. equities Wednesday morning. U.S. stock futures | Fed meeting’s minutes Kit Juckes, head of foreign-exchange strategy at Société Générale in London, said the minutes disappointed traders who were prematurely looking for a further quantitative-easing-inspired “sugar rush� from the Fed. “While further QE [quantitative easing] is unlikely until June, and less likely overall than it was, the monetary policy outlook hasn’t changed much [with] near-zero rates until the economy recovers substantially, while further accommodation is possible if growth slows,� he said. The euro EURUSD -0.93% changed hands at $1.3164, compared with $1.3231 Tuesday, when the common currency suffered its biggest percentage drop since March 9. The European Central Bank is expected to leave its key lending rate unchanged at 1% when it announces the outcome of its April policy meeting at 7:45 a.m. Eastern time. ECB President Mario Draghi hosts his monthly news conference at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. The final March composite purchasing managers’ index reading rose from a preliminary estimate but still pointed to a contraction in euro-zone business activity for the month and first quarter. An auction of Spanish debt, the government’s first test of the credit markets since unveiling its austerity budget last week, saw borrowing costs rise and demand weaken. Spanish and Italian 10-year yields rose sharply. Spanish, Italian yields surge The British pound GBPUSD -0.38% declined to $1.5866, from $1.5901, easing further after a British Chambers of Commerce report said the U.K., although growing, will need to provide more support to the private sector. U.K. PMI data showed a activity in the dominant services sector accelerated unexpectedly in March, further confirming expectations the economy avoided a double-dip recession, economists said. U.K. PMI Reflecting risk aversion, the dollar USDJPY -0.57% declined against the Japanese yen and bought ¥82.20 compared with ¥82.87 late Tuesday. Among other regional currencies, the Australian dollar AUDUSD -0.66% fell after the nation posted a surprise trade deficit, with the unit at $1.0264 from $1.0305 just ahead of the data Wednesday morning. Australia’s trade deficit “While weather distorted, today’s trade data add to the view of an economy that is struggling at a sub-trend pace. Barring a major upside surprise for [first-quarter consumer price inflation] on April 24, we expect the Reserve Bank of Australia to cut the cash rate in May,� Royal Bank of Canada strategist Su-Lin Ong wrote in emailed comments after the data. William L. Watts is MarketWatch's European bureau chief, based in Frankfurt.

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