Euro falls against dollar

Euro falls against dollar as world markets come off recent rallies

The euro was somewhat weaker against the dollar Tuesday as stock markets ended their recent rally amid fears of worse-than-expected first quarter earnings reports.

The 16-nation euro bought $1.3379 in European morning trading, down from $1.3395 late Monday in New York. The British pound slipped to $1.4718 from $1.4726, while the dollar declined to 100.42 Japanese yen from 100.93 yen.

Markets were uneasy ahead of the first-quarter reporting season, which kicks off Tuesday with aluminum company Alcoa Inc. Meanwhile, reports that IBM Corp. has walked away from a takeover of Sun Microsystems Inc. prompted investors to book profits built up over the last few weeks.

The dollar often benefits from market jitters, as investors repatriate funds back into the U.S. to avoid losses, boosting the currency.