Dollar Lower Vs Yen in Asia

The dollar was trading at 107.92 yen midafternoon in Tokyo, down from 108.07 yen late Monday in New York. The euro fell to US$1.4813 from US$1.4825.

The dollar remains vulnerable against the yen despite a decision overnight by Standard & Poor's to maintain its top ratings on troubled U.S. bond insurers, traders said.

"There's a sense of caution emerging among investors as well as speculators" about the S&P decision, said Seiichiro Muta, director of foreign exchange in Tokyo at UBS.

"Many players are wondering whether the decision reflects reality" after so much talk of U.S. bond insurers' deteriorating health due to their guarantees of subprime mortgage-backed securities, he said.

Despite a rise of almost 190 points on Wall Street on Monday, Japanese stocks declined, with the Nikkei 225 index falling 0.7 percent to end at 13,824.7. Its fall underscored doubts that S&P's move will help bond insurers regain their footing and lessen the risk of a credit crunch in the U.S., traders said.

The dollar was mixed against other Asian currencies. It fell 0.42 percent against the Indonesian rupiah to 9,092; it rose 0.05 percent against the South Korean won to 947.2.