TOKYO AP The U.S. dollar fell against the yen Tuesday in Tokyo following an overnight decline on Wall Street. Japanese stocks finished the day's trading lower. The benchmark 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average fell 48.29 points or 0.32 percent closing the day's trading at 14835.41 points. On Monday the Nikkei closed down 185.69 points or 1.23 percent. In mid-afternoon trading the U.S. dollar bought 122.88 yen down 0.94 yen from late Monday in Tokyo and also below its late New York level of 123.26 yen overnight. The dollar's weakness was largely because of the overnight fall in U.S. stocks traders said. The Dow Jones industrial average closed at 9116.55 on Monday down 216.53 points or 2.3 percent. ``The margin of fall in the Dow was quite big. That has muted the bullish sentiment over the U.S. economy and the dollar somewhat'' said Yukihiko Hashimoto senior manager of the treasury and funding department of Sanwa Bank. Among those selling the dollar were U.S. hedge funds and Japanese institutional investors traders said. On the Tokyo Stock Exchange market sentiments remained bearish because of the fall on Wall Street as well as local news reports that Tokyo-based JDC Corp. a medium-sized general contractor was seeking court protection from creditors. JDC later confirmed that it filed for protection with the Tokyo District Court Tuesday morning with debts totaling 406.7 billion yen dlrs 3.33 billion from failed golf course and other projects. It was the biggest bankruptcy of a Japanese general contractor since Tokai Kogyo Co. went under last year after amassing debts of 511 billion yen dlrs 4.18 billion according to Teikoku Data Bank a Tokyo think tank. The Tokyo Stock Price Index of all issues listed on the first section was down 1.24 points or 0.11 percent to 1142.26 points. The TOPIX closed down 14.85 points or 1.28 percent the day before. The yield on the benchmark No. 203 10-year Japanese government bond rose to 1.140 percent from Monday's finish of 1.040 percent driving its price down to 105.68 yen from 106.59 yen. UR; may-dj-km APW19981201.0692.txt.body.html APW19981201.0312.txt.body.html