London, Oct. 16 (Bloomberg) -- The dollar fell against the yen for the first day in five as U.S. stocks declined, damping demand for the currency to buy them. The dollar dropped to 124.35 yen at 10 a.m. in London, from 124.61 late yesterday. It was at 98.05 U.S. cents per euro, compared with 98.01. It has shed 5.6 percent against the yen and 9.3 percent against Europe's common currency this year.
Futures on the Nasdaq 100 fell 16 points to 935, suggesting U.S. equities won't extend a four-day winning streak, after Intel Corp. said fourth-quarter sales won't meet analysts' expectations. ``The futures sold off because Intel's numbers were a bit disappointing, hurting the dollar,'' said Brian Martin, chief currency economist at Barclays Capital. He expects the euro to trade between 97.70 and 99.10 U.S. cents in the next few days.
Shares of the world's biggest maker of computer chips slumped 10 percent to 14.85 euros in Germany after it said sales for the three months ending Dec. 31 will be $6.5 billion to $6.9 billion. Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call had estimated an average of $6.92 billion.
``The dollar could weaken to 98.50 (U.S. cents per euro) after Intel's results provided a less positive background for stocks,'' said Rob Hayward, a currency strategist at ABN Amro. ``The dollar will be less supported than it was yesterday,'' when the S&P 500 jumped 4.7 percent and the Nasdaq more than 5 percent. The yen may have been boosted, analysts said, after Bank of Japan Governor Masaru Hayami said he doesn't expect it to extend its 1.6 percent decline against the dollar in the past month. ``In the free-market economy it's natural that foreign- exchange rates will move, and if they move excessively they will rebound,'' Hayami said at a scheduled monthly press conference. ``We don't have to worry about it.'' //www.quote.bloomberg.com