The U.S. dollar firmed markedly against some counterparts on Thursday, digesting underlying strength in an U.S. durable goods report and pushing the euro briefly below $1.2400. Early morning in New York, the euro was down about 0.8 percent on the day to around $1.2396 according to data. The U.S. dollar gained about 1 percent against the Canadian dollar , buying C$1.3470. New orders for expensive, long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods dropped unexpectedly in January, by 1.8 percent, compared with consensus forecasts for a rise of 1.4 percent. But non-defense capital goods orders, excluding aircraft -- which are seen as a proxy for future business spending -- rose 3.6 percent last month after a 3.8 percent gain in December. That component of the durable goods report showed underlying strength which helped lift the dollar after the dollar initially fell before traders began digesting important caveats in the data.//