TOKYO, Japan -- The dollar steadied against the yen Tuesday, as investors eyed stock markets to see if they could continue buying risk assets, while awaiting US data and comments from several Federal Reserve officials later in the day.

Signs of a growth slowdown spreading elsewhere may help support the dollar, but lingering doubts about whether the worst of the credit market turmoil is really over were likely to cap the US currency's upside, traders said.

Traders said prices were likely to be generally confined to ranges ahead of the data and Fed officials' comments, with stocks likely to offer direction during Asian time.

"Players are unsure whether credit-related woes have really bottomed out or whether troubles will keep surfacing," said a dealer at a European bank.

"They are also not confident about a view the dollar, which had already taken a hit from a weak US economic outlook, may be benefiting from spreading signs of a growth slowdown elsewhere," he said.

The dollar was trading at 103.91 yen little changed from late US trade. The current level makes investors less eager to buy the dollar while sellers were likely to wait for the currency to rise more, keeping the pair in ranges, traders said.

The euro was also little changed at $1.5533 but eased slightly against the yen to 161.35 yen from 161.46 yen.

Sterling fell to $1.9522 from around $1.9575 after data showed house prices in Britain in April had their sharpest fall since 1978, when the survey on the house price balance by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors began.

Investors will be closely watching April US retail sales, which are expected to have fallen 0.1 percent, and the British consumer price index for April, which is seen rising 0.5 percent, both of which are due later in the day.

They will also monitor speeches by Fed officials, including Fed chairman Ben Bernanke, for clues on whether the US central bank will cut benchmark interest rates again next month.

After aggressive rate cuts, market players largely expect the Fed to keep interest rates unchanged next month, while speculation was rising that the European Central bank may lower interest rates later this year on signs of slowing euro zone growth.

US and global stocks rose Monday, cheered by news that European banking heavyweight HSBC posted unexpectedly strong first-quarter earnings, easing concerns about the health of the banking sector, and a fall in oil prices

Strong stock markets encouraged investors to take risk and resume carry trades, where they use low-yielding currencies such as the yen as funding to buy assets with higher returns, helping to lift the high-yielding euro, sterling and Australian and New Zealand dollars against the US dollar.