* Dollar index flat but near recent 4-month low
* Euro, Aussie, sterling remain on uptrends vs dollar, yen
* Gain on Wall St sees pick-up in riskier trades
TOKYO, May 15 (Reuters) - The dollar was back on the defensive on Friday, holding close to a four-month low, after a climb in U.S. stocks gave investor confidence a lift and boosted the fortunes of riskier currencies.
The euro, sterling and the Australian dollar held on to gains made on Thursday against the greenback and the yen, keeping within sight of recent highs made as optimism has grown that the worst of the global economic crisis may be over.
"For now the market is taking its cue from a nice reversal higher on U.S. equity markets overnight," said Sue Trinh, senior currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets in Sydney.
The dollar was steady on the day as measured against a basket of six major currencies, but holding close to a four-month low on the index set on Wednesday at 81.871.
The euro, which hit a seven-week high at $1.3722 this week, was a shade softer at $1.3621, losing a little ground after the Tokyo fixing at 0100 GMT.
Trinh said yen pairs had been bid ahead of the fixing. The euro edged 0.1 percent lower to 130.60 yen but was well above a two-week low of 128.87 on trading platform EBS on Thursday.
Japanese wholesale prices fell at their fastest rate for 22 years in the year to April, while core machinery orders, a leading indicator of corporate capital spending, fell 1.3 percent in March, less than forecast but still weak..
"Although there have been some signs of improvements in output and sentiment, machinery orders data showed capital spending is likely to remain weak," said Junko Nishioka, chief economist at RBS Securities.
The dollar, which touched its lowest in about eight weeks at 95.10 yen on Thursday, was steady at 95.84 yen.
The Australian dollar, which hit seven-month highs against both the yen and the dollar this week, has been a favourite play for short-term speculators looking to benefit when the global economy bottoms out.
It climbed more than 1 percent against the dollar on Thursday but after the fixing was edging lower, slipping 0.3 percent to $0.7578 and 72.60 yen.
The New Zealand dollar fell, dropping 0.6 percent to $0.5923 after weak first quarter retail sales figures and comments from International Monetary Fund that New Zealand may have to ease monetary policy further. (Reporting by Charlotte Cooper; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)