NEW YORK: Crude oil rose and the US dollar gained in a safe-haven bid on Friday. The euro fell below $1.4300 for the first time since Sept. 4, according to Reuters data, as investors bought the US currency amid the Iran-Iraq tensions.

The dollar’s advance led investors to pare risky bets, such as stocks, but the Nasdaq edged higher as upbeat results from Oracle and Research In Motion boosted optimism about technology spending.

The US dollar index climbed about 0.5 percent, a move that pressured shares of natural resource companies and weighed on exporters like Caterpillar Inc., which pared some losses after falling nearly 2 percent.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 10.96 points, or 0.11 percent, at 10,297.30. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 2.00 points, or 0.18 percent, at 1,098.08. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 17.79 points, or 0.82 percent, at 2,197.84.

US Treasury debt prices fell as profit-taking emerged after a safe-haven rally in bond markets on Thursday that was ignited by falling stocks and concerns about Greece’s fiscal problems.

But renewed weakness on Wall Street curbed the decline in bond prices in the absence of major US economic data. “It looks to me like things are going in contrary directions,” said Jerry Webman, chief economist at Oppenheimer Funds in New York.

European shares closed lower, with banks falling as ongoing concerns about tough new Basel regulations weighed and oils down after crude prices retreated.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of leading European shares closed 0.5 percent lower at 1,013.15.

Oil rose above $73 a barrel amid the oil field tensions, while the stronger dollar showed investors remain wary of risky commodities. Gold retreated toward $1,100 an ounce before reversing course, and copper prices eased as the dollar firmed against the euro. Spot gold prices rose $14.80 to $1112.60 an ounce.

US light sweet crude oil rose 70 cents to $73.35 a barrel.

The dollar was up against a basket of major currencies, with the US Dollar Index up 0.36 percent at 77.972. The euro was down 0.37 percent at $1.4291. Against the yen, the dollar was up 0.71 percent at 90.52.

The benchmark 10-year US Treasury note was down 10/32 in price to yield 3.52 percent.

The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks traded outside Japan which has rallied more than 60 percent this year, was 0.5 percent lower. In Japan, the Nikkei share index dipped 0.2 percent, paring most of the day’s losses.