TOKYO, July 23 (Reuters) - The euro steadied against the dollar on Friday, retaining gains made the previous day on strong euro zone data and U.S. corporate earnings, as investors awaited European bank stress test results due later in the day.
The euro, which jumped more than 1 percent on Thursday against the greenback, moved in a narrow range around $1.2900, little changed from late U.S. trade on Thursday.
Traders said the euro was unlikely to try a 10-week high of $1.3029 hit earlier this week, nor fall sharply from the current level, ahead of the stress test results, which could move many currencies, not just the euro.
"Few are seriously worried about results of the bank stress tests now, and that is supporting the euro," said a senior FX trader at a big Japanese bank.
"But it's hard to see whether the euro will extend gains against the dollar after the test results as investors are well aware the root problem of the euro zone debt woes is sovereign credit trouble."
The yen slipped broadly after Thursday's data showing surprisingly robust growth in European manufacturing and services, and strong earnings from U.S. blue chips such as 3M and Caterpillar rekindled hopes for the global economy, boosting risk appetite.
The euro rose 0.3 percent from late U.S. trade to 112.35 yen.
The dollar inched up 0.1 percent to 87.08 yen, staying above a seven-month trough of 86.27 yen struck on trading platform EBS late last week. (Reporting by Rika Otsuka)