Japan rises on stimulus hope after after Yuan stabilizes

Various media reports reveal that Japanese stocks rose after poor quarterly economic data raised hopes of fresh economic stimulus while other Asian indexes became steadier as the Chinese yuan stabilized after last week's shock devaluation.

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The Associated Press reports that Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.4 percent to 20,591.83 while with South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.7 percent to 1,969.50. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.9 percent to 23,778.67 and the Shanghai Composite Index in mainland China added 0.2 percent to 3,972.67. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.4 percent to 5,380.10.

Japan - Asia's second-biggest economy - also posted 1.6 percent in the April-June quarter on slowing China demand, according to the latest government data which was released today.

Since the start of Japan’s economic problems, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has championed a huge stimulus program aimed at kickstarting economic growth. However, analysts say the poor results so far suggest that the central bank may infuse even more money into the economy in the months to come, a move that would also support the stock market.

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"These numbers are in no way positive as the Japanese economy teeters on the brink of full contraction," said a senior foreign exchange trader at OANDA, Stephen Innes."The data continues to lend support for additional quantitative easing in Japan."