Despite a statement released from the Bank of Japan saying the nation's economy is “recovering moderately,” the Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.6% after a 4% drop in the previous day’s trading session. Analysts at CVS Group attribute the loss to a stronger yen. As the yen's value increases it hurts Japanese companies that depend on income from overseas. The real estate company Mitsui Fudosan gained 1.5% after reporting a 8.3% rise in first quarter profits from a solid performance in their condominium sales and office leasing businesses. Kubota Corp. a machinery manufacturer rose 1.6% after they reported a 50% gain in profit from a weaker yen earlier in the year. The Australian S&P/ASX 200 climbed 1.1%, which CVS Group analysts attribute to a stabilizing in China´s imports after a downturn. China is Australia's biggest trading partner. Exports from Australia rose 5.1% beating expectations of 2.8%. Imports were also up 10.9% shattering the expected 1.3% increase. Mining companies were among the nation's best performers with Rio Tinto Ltd. up 1.5% and BHP Billiton Ltd. gaining 1.2%.
In China the Shanghai Composite fell marginally losing 0.1% to close the day at 2044.9 and in Hong Kong the Hang Seng Index gained 0.3%. Resource firms performed well in Hong Kong, with China Resources Enterprise Ltd. up 3.5%, PetroChina Co. Ltd. gained 2.59% and China Resources Land Ltd rose 2.56%
In Taiwan the Taiex lost 0.2%. PC manufacturer Acer Inc. dropped 4% after posting a net loss in the second quarter, due to lower sales and larger marketing and chip costs.