FOREX-Dollar wins respite on U.S. rescue plan

* Euro down half a percent at $1.5857 EUR=

* Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae rescue measures boost sentiment

* Concerns about health of U.S. financial sector remain

* Bernanke testimony eyed

(Changes byline, adds quotes, updates prices)

By Veronica Brown

LONDON, July 14 (Reuters) - The dollar rowed back from a near-record low against the euro on Monday after the United States unveiled an emergency plan to restore investor confidence in embattled mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The Treasury boosted its direct credit lines to the government-sponsored enterprises (GSE) and said it would buy their shares if necessary, while the Federal Reserve made its direct lending window to financial firms available to them. [ID:nN13387357]

The plan went some way to calming market concerns about the health of the U.S. financial and housing sectors, as the two companies fund half of all U.S. mortgages. But analysts urged caution, noting its potential expense.

"This (plan) has opened up a whole new element of uncertainty. Now you are in a much graver situation in terms of the cost of what the U.S. government has been forced into doing," BTM-UFJ currency economist Derek Halpenny said.

"There are significant risks and significant uncertainties that could have very, very negative implications for the U.S. dollar," he added.

Underlining the tensions in the sector, federal regulators seized mortgage lender IndyMac Bancorp on Friday in the third largest bank failure in the country's history.

By 1115 GMT, the euro was down half a percent on the day at $1.5857, having earlier come within half a cent of April's record highs of $1.6018 EUR=.

The dollar index .DXY, which tracks its progress against a basket of six major currencies, added 0.6 percent to 72.210, bouncing off a 2-1/2 month low set before the U.S. announcement.

The greenback was also up 0.4 percent at 106.67 yen JPY=.