By William L. Watts and Virginia Harrison, MarketWatch FRANKFURT (MarketWatch)—The dollar trimmed small gains versus most rivals Wednesday as investors awaited ADP’s private-sector job gauge, developments in Spain, and the first of three U.S. presidential debates. The ICE dollar index DXY +0.09% , which measures the dollar against a basket of six other currencies, traded at 79.747, up marginally from 79.735 in North American trading late Tuesday. The euro EURUSD -0.11% bought $1.2923, virtually unchanged from $1.2921 in North American trading late Tuesday. The euro initially weakened after Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy denied that his country was about to ask for aid from the European Union. Investors are looking ahead to the release of ADP’s private-sector payroll gauge at 8:15 a.m. Eastern. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expect the report to show 153,000 jobs were created in September, slowing from 201,000 in August. The data is watched for clues to the Labor Department’s September nonfarm payrolls report on Friday. Also Wednesday, President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney square off in their first presidential debate. “Markets head into the final stage of the election with a strong bias for no change,� said Adam Cole, head of G-10 forex strategy at RBC Capital Markets in London, citing election futures markets. “Our judgment would be that any drift away from the status quo (i.e., falling support for Obama) and the increase in uncertainty it implies would generally be negative for risk appetite and hence positive for the U.S. dollar,� Cole said in a note to clients. The dollar tends to rise as risk appetite falls as investors seek havens. The dollar tends to weaken as risk appetite rises. Crédit Agricole strategist Sireen Harajli said the euro is likely to drift lower, “at least until Spain requests a bailout. We think it’s a matter of time before that happens, and our economists estimate that sometime next week.� The European Central Bank is widely expected to take a wait-and-see approach when its policy-making panel meets Thursday. See: ECB chief Mario Draghi’s hands are tied . The British pound GBPUSD -0.12% eased to $1.6112, down from $1.6147 late Tuesday. Against the Japanese yen USDJPY +0.12% , the dollar edged up to ¥78.21, from ¥78.13 Tuesday. The Australian dollar AUDUSD -0.44% edged down, trading at $1.0218 from $1.026. The currency came under pressure after the Reserve Bank of Australia delivered a surprise cut to the key cash interest rate Tuesday. Read: Australia rate cut: Help or hindrance? William L. Watts is MarketWatch's European bureau chief, based in Frankfurt. Virginia Harrison is a MarketWatch reporter based in Sydney.

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