* Euro/dollar hits 1-mth high, retreats on profit taking
* Losses limited, shares, data boost econ recovery view
* Bank stress test result concerns may cool risk demand
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By Naomi Tajitsu
LONDON, May 5 (Reuters) - The euro slipped on Tuesday, pulling back from a one-month high hit against the dollar in early trade as profit taking set in, while markets awaited the results of U.S. bank stress tests later this week.
Losses were limited in the euro and other currencies perceived to be higher-risk given a rise in European shares. Analysts said recent economic data has bolstered hope that the global downturn may be petering out.
The euro rose as high as $1.3439 on electronic trading platform EBS, its highest since early April, before dropping to around $1.3335 by 0800 GMT, down around 0.4 percent on the day.
European shares rose 0.5 percent in early trade.
"Risk is still on, that's the general theme," said Martin McMahon, currency strategist at Credit Suisse in Zurich. "It's general confidence that the recovery is coming everywhere. All of the data is coming through moderately positive."
Data this week showing improving manufacturing in Europe, China and India, and an unexpected rise in U.S. existing homes sales added to the argument that the global economy may have past the worst after months of intense weakness.
But analysts said the risk rally seen over the past month may be cut short if stress tests results due on Thursday show U.S. banks may need significantly more capital to deal with ongoing weakness in the global financial system.
A source told Reuters about 10 banks would be told they needed to increase their capital cushions.
The dollar index rose half a percent higher to around 84.064. The euro's retreat against the U.S. currency helped the dollar to recover from 83.600 hit against a basket of currencies on Monday, the first time since late March.
RBA HOLDS RATES
The dollar was little changed against the yen at 98.95 yen. The yen benefitted from the euro's losses, which took euro/yen down 0.4 percent to 132.15 yen.
Still, the yen remains on the back foot after sliding broadly against higher-yielding currencies including sterling and the Australian and New Zealand dollars in past weeks.
Improving risk appetite tends to put downward pressure on the dollar and the yen, which are widely considered safer trading bets in times of uncertainty.
Sterling was flat on the day at $1.5024, after climbing as high as $1.5063 in early London trade as UK market participants returned from a holiday on Monday. A climb above $1.5070 would be the pair's highest since January.
The Australian dollar traded at $0.7392, holding near a seven-month high of $0.7427 after the Reserve Bank of Australia on Tuesday kept its benchmark cash rate on hold at a record low of 3.0 percent, rather than cutting it.
Analysts said some market participants remained wary, worrying that the results of the stress tests, due on Thursday, would raise concerns about how banks would access more capital.
"The market is very split. We do see a lot of positive sentiment but those who are bears are using the big moves to unwind positions and to sell at these levels," said Sharada Selvanathan, currency strategist at BNP Paribas in Hong Kong. (Additional reporting by Charlotte Cooper in Tokyo, editing by Mike Peacock)