[R]7:45AM Asia closed mixed. The Nikkei recovered.[/R]
Asian-Pacific benchmarks finished mixed as strengthening Asian currencies against the dollar weighed on exporter issues and large industrial shares. The Nikkei slightly recovered from the steep decline Monday, helped by property stocks like Mitsubishi Estate, up 1.7% and Mitsui Fudosan, up 2%. Export-related stocks like Toyota Motor, Sony and Canon declined. Following the biggest single-day loss since January, the Japanese index advanced 0.3% to 16,970.23. Across the region, South Korea’s Kospi ended flat, reversing from earlier advance on GDP data as stronger won against the dollar hurt exporter stocks. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 0.8%, dragged by 6.5% loss for Sinopec. Shanghai Composite also fell 0.7%, followed by Singapore Straits Times, down 0.4%.