TOKYO, Japan -- The dollar was steady against the euro and yen in Asian trade Wednesday as measures by central banks to shore up confidence in the global crisis failed to reassure the markets, dealers said.

The dollar was little changed at 101.33 yen in Tokyo morning trade from 101.38 in New York late Tuesday. The euro was also stable at $1.3595 from $1.3599 but slipped to 137.63 yen from 137.92.

The stability in currency markets contrasted with the see-sawing on Japanese equity markets, with the headline Nikkei-225 index falling more than 4.0 percent to below 10,000 points before steadying.

"Currency markets are stable as they had already priced in moves by central banks and authorities, so markets were relatively unsurprised," said Masatsugu Miyata, forex dealer at Hachijuni Bank.

"It's rather that markets are turning the corner ahead of authorities and expecting them to take measures," he said.

Federal Reserve Bank chairman Ben Bernanke in a speech on Tuesday hinted that the central bank would cut interest rates as the outlook for economic growth in the United States worsened.

Markets gave a muted response to news that the Federal Reserve opened its coffers to companies hit by the credit crunch with a new plan to buy up short-term debt critical for many corporate operations.

But some dealers expected the measures would tame recent surges in the yen, which investors use as a safe haven in times of financial crisis and uncertainty.

"Although financial sector concerns and risk aversion probably will not dissipate anytime soon, prospective foreign monetary easing should improve liquidity and risk appetite, setting the stage for a yen drop," wrote Bank of America strategist Tomoko Fujii in a note to clients.

Markets were looking ahead to a Group of Seven meeting on Friday gathering central bank chiefs and other financial authorities.

They were also watching developments in Europe, where governments have scrambled to save financial institutions from collapse.

Reports said French banks Caisse d'Epargne and Banque Populaire will hold talks on a possible merger, which would create France's largest retail banking group. (Dow Jones Newswires contributed to this report)