Dollar hits record low, Treasuries up on Bear news

TOKYO, March 17 (Reuters) - The dollar sank to a record low against the euro on Monday and Treasuries climbed as investors said the acquisition of Bear Stearns BSC.N by JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) highlighted the depths of the problems plaguing U.S. financial markets.

JPMorgan acquired Bear on Sunday after having provided emergency funding to Bear on Friday via the Federal Reserve. The Fed cut its discount rate on Sunday and launched a new discount window facility for primary dealers.

The dollar briefly trimmed losses on the news but then started tumbling anew. The euro vaulted to a record peak of $1.5773 <EUR=>, up 0.6 percent on the day. U.S. Treasury futures rebounded from early losses, with June T-note futures TYv1 rising 5.5/32 to 119-8.5/32 and back near a five-year high. Gold struck a record peak of $1,015.10 <XAU=>. (Reporting by Eric Burroughs)