* Euro steady vs dollar but shy of 8-week high
* Yen rises as investors pocket profits in other majors
* More Treasury auctions awaited after weak 2-yr sale results
By Kaori Kaneko
TOKYO, July 29 (Reuters) - The dollar drifted sideways against a basket of currencies on Wednesday, hovering not far from the lowest level of the year, as investors awaited fresh leads from coming economic events in the United States.
The euro held firm against the dollar but stayed shy of Tuesday's eight-week high after news of weaker-than-expected consumer confidence in the United Stated prompted investors to cut long positions in the European currency.
Major currencies were largely confined in ranges in Asian trade as investors remained cautious about a recent rapid rise in assets such as stocks and commodity prices.
"The currency market is taking a breather after the recent run-up," said Mitsuru Sahara, chief manager of currency derivatives trading at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.
The dollar index, a gauge of its performance against six major currencies, was steady at 78.843 from late U.S. trade on Tuesday when it fell as far as 78.315, its lowest since December.
The U.S. currency inched down 0.2 percent to 94.35 yen.
"Investors will continue to assess the real economy by looking at economic data in the U.S. But it is hard to predict how the currency market will react as recent data has been giving mixed signals and upcoming data is likely to do the same," said Sahara.
The yen was higher as investors pocketed profits on gains in the dollar and other yen crosses as well as global stocks after their rallies of the past two weeks.
During that period, the dollar had jumped to 95.39 yen from July's low of 91.73 yen and other majors rallied sharply against the yen.
"Asset prices have climbed everywhere this month, giving investors a chance to book profits before their summer vacation," said a trader at a Japanese brokerage.
"There isn't any fresh factor that would prompt investors to trim risks now," he said.
The euro fell 0.3 percent to 133.51 yen after falling more than 1 percent the previous day.
Against the dollar, the euro was steady at $1.4167 from late U.S. trade on Tuesday when it rose as high as $1.4305 on trading platform EBS, its highest since early June.
The Australian dollar slipped 0.5 percent to 77.72 yen after touching a six-week high of 79.29 yen the previous day.
The Aussie was around $0.8250 after jumping to a 10-month high of around $0.8340 on Tuesday buoyed by upbeat comments on Australia's economy by the central bank governor.
The New Zealand dollar was down 0.2 percent at 61.98 yen after touching 63.09 yen on Tuesday, its highest since mid-June. It was trading at about $0.6577 after rising as far as $0.6635 the previous day, its highest since October.
Conference Board data on Tuesday showed U.S. consumer confidence slid more than expected in July, recording its second consecutive month of decline as sentiment remained hampered by a difficult job market.
A Standard & Poor's/Case Shiller report on Tuesday showed U.S. single-family home prices rose in May, the first increase in nearly three years.
With signs that the U.S. housing market may be stabilising, investors will also be examining U.S. consumption and employment conditions in coming data, dealers said.
The Federal Reserve will release its Beige Book of Economic Conditions at 1800 GMT on Wednesday and the U.S. will release second-quarter gross domestic product figures on Friday.
The market also awaits more U.S. Treasury auctions this week and the effect on yields. A record $42 billion two-year Treasury auction on Tuesday had little impact on the currency market, though details of the outcome were not encouraging for the dollar.
Indirect bidders, a key gauge of foreign interest, accounted for just 32.6 percent versus a three-auction average of 51 percent.
The Treasury will auction $39 billion of five-year notes on Wednesday and $28 billion of seven-year notes on Thursday. (Additional reporting by Rika Otsuka; Editing by Chris Gallagher)