TOKYO -- The dollar was little changed on Wednesday, holding slight gains made against the yen on a partial recovery in US stocks, while investors awaited economic data that may show the United States is edging closer to recession.

Such a view kept the dollar broadly weak, hovering near a record low against the euro and a three-year trough versus the yen ahead of the Institute of Supply Management's (ISM) index of service sector activity that may fuel the view that aggressive interest rate cuts may be needed to lift the struggling US economy.

Following the dollar's roughly 5.0 percent plunge against the yen in the past week or so and the euro's 3.5 percent climb against the US currency, market participants see more dollar losses on the way.

"If we see a weak ISM reading and then weak jobs figures later in the week, we could see a push in the dollar/yen towards 100 yen," said Hideki Amikura, a forex manager at Nomura Trust and Banking.

The dollar was unchanged around 103.35 yen holding gains after receiving a boost from US stocks on Tuesday on a report that a deal to rescue ailing bond insurer Ambac Financial Group was near.

Still, the US currency remained near a three-year low of 102.60 yen hit earlier in the week, and was at 73.674 against a basket of major currencies, near its lowest level ever.

The euro traded around $1.5210, barely moving from levels in late New York trade, and stayed close to a record high around $1.5275 hit on Monday.

Against the yen the single European currency traded around 157.30 yen, keeping Tuesday's gains.

On the US data front, the ISM's Non-Manufacturing Index at 1500 GMT is expected to produce a reading of 47.0 in February, above January's 44.6 but still below the level of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

A second month of shrinkage in the index would lend considerable support to analysts who say the United States is already in recession and the economy is contracting.

Also due on Wednesday are a reading on US factory orders, employment and the Federal Reserve's Beige Book, which market participants will pore over for clues on how much pain the economy is in. (Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu; editing by Michael Watson)