By MarketWatch TOKYO (MarketWatch) -- The euro touched a new four-year low against the U.S. dollar in early Asian trading Wednesday, after new reports Tuesday that Germany will ban certain types of short-selling heightened market worries about Europe. Slumping Asian share markets increased the appeal of lower-risk, lower-yielding currencies such as the dollar and the yen, adding to pressure on the European unit. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average was down 1.8% in morning trading. The euro (CUR_EURUSD 1.2196, +0.0011, +0.0903%) reportedly fell to a fresh four-year low of $1.2143 on the EBS trading platform. It was at $1.2171, down from $1.2204 in late North American trading Tuesday, a day on which it fell as low as $1.2159 intraday. Against the Japanese yen, the euro (CUR_EURYEN 114.7500, +0.7700, +0.6756%) sank to ¥111.72, down from ¥112.71 Tuesday. The dollar (CUR_USDYEN 92.0000, -0.0600, -0.0652%) slipped to ¥91.76, from ¥92.35 late Tuesday. The dollar index (DXY 87.21, +0.05, +0.06%) , which tracks the U.S. unit against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, rose to 87.281, from 87.160 late Tuesday. On Tuesday, the dollar rose against the euro as traders flocked to the relative security of the U.S. currency and government debt amid rising fears about Europe. See Tuesday's Currencies report.

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