By Deborah Levine and William L. Watts, MarketWatch SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — The U.S. dollar gained some ground Thursday after economic reports weighed on investors’ confidence in the strength of the recovery. A stream of mixed corporate earnings and the start of a two-day summit meeting of European Union leaders kept the greenback in check. The ICE dollar index DXY +0.12% , which measures the U.S. unit against a basket of six major currencies, rose to 79.173 from 79.022 in North American trade late Wednesday. The WSJ Dollar Index XX:BUXX +0.15% , which tracks the greenback against a slightly wider basket, rose 0.2% to 69.40. The euro EURUSD -0.15% slipped to $1.3097, from $1.3121 late Wednesday, when it notched a one-month high. The dollar advanced after a report showed U.S. weekly jobless claims jumped more than expected, while the Philadelphia Federal Reserve’s index on regional manufacturing conditions indicated pockets of weakness. Read: U.S. initial claims jump. U.S. stocks edged lower. Read: U.S. stocks fall as jobless claims climb. Earlier Wednesday, data showed China’s economy cooled in the third quarter, posting its slowest pace of growth since the first quarter of 2009, which economists said could mark the bottom of China’s slowdown. See: China’s GDP growth slows but may mark bottom . Summit Analysts also remained tuned into to the potential for comments from European Union leaders gathered in Brussels for a two-day summit. Expectations remain low for any major developments, with Spain seen holding off until at least next month on a request for a bailout and leaders unlikely to decide on whether to disburse a fresh round of aid to Greece. See: Euro rises, but don't credit the EU summit . The euro has been buoyed, instead, by expectations that Spain will ultimately bite the bullet and ask for help in coming weeks and that Greece’s euro-zone partners will eventually give the debt-strapped country more time to meet its deficit targets. The potential “for disappointment tonight may be limited as long as there are no headlines dampening the expectation of an imminent Spanish request for bailout funds or aid payments to Greece,� said Carolin Hecht, currency analyst at Commerzbank. Spain asking for a bailout would be seen as a good development, because it would prompt the European Central Bank to follow through on a plan to buy the debt of countries that seek a bailout, thereby propping up European bond markets in the midst of the simmering crisis. Initial underlying technical support for the euro is located around $1.3000-$1.3025, while a move through Wednesday’s high near $1.3140 is required for further gains, Hecht said in a note. Spain on Thursday sold €4.61 billion of 3-, 4- and 10-year bonds, topping the high end of its planned range of €3.5 billion to €4.5 billion, while yields declined. The British pound GBPUSD -0.08% traded at $1.6139, giving up gains after data showed U.K. retail sales rose more than expected in September. Sterling traded at $1.6147 late Wednesday. Retail-sales volumes rose 0.6% in September. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast a 0.2% rise. Dollar/yen upside momentum The dollar traded at 79.29 yen USDJPY +0.37% , up from ¥79.03 late Wednesday. The dollar’s continued gains versus the yen were fueled in part by strong U.S. economic data on Wednesday, including a jump in housing starts, said strategists at UBS. They expect markets to show continued momentum in risk appetite, which they favor playing via the dollar/yen pair, “given the risk of further substantial easing at the Oct. 30 Bank of Japan meeting.� Deborah Levine is a MarketWatch reporter, based in San Francisco. William L. Watts is MarketWatch's European bureau chief, based in Frankfurt.

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