Asian stocks mostly lower despite decent earnings; Nikkei up 0.40%

Most Asian stocks traded lower Tuesday despite some impressive second-quarter earnings reports unveiled during Monday’s U.S. session. 

In Asian trading Tuesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.40% as Japanese markets reopened a day after being closed for a national holiday.USD/JPY traded slightly lower as traders awaited the release of minutes from last week’s Bank of Japan meeting. 

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.31% while the Shanghai Composite Dropped 0.69% a day after China reported second-quarter GDP growth of 7.5%, a reading that met analysts’ expectations. 

Chinese property developers and real estate firms slid on fresh concerns policymakers there will take steps to curb speculative real estate investments. High property values are seen as a drag on the world’s second-largest economy and politicians there would like to temper those rising prices. Data released Monday show home sales transactions in China jumped 24% last month. 

The Shanghai Composite is down nearly 10% year-to-date, but is one of the cheapest major emerging markets indices in the world. 

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.1%. Traders there are also waiting on the release of central bank meeting minutes. Last week, the Reserve Bank of Australia left rates unchanged at a record low of 2.75%, but expectations are in place for further rate cuts later this year. 

New Zealand’s NZSE 50 fell 0.35% after Statistics New Zealand said consumer price inflation there rose by 0.2% last quarter compared with a 0.4% in the first quarter. Analysts expected an increase of 0.3%.NZD/USD traded higher after that report. 

South Korea’s Kopsi fell 0.67% as the won climbed to a five-week high. Traders see near-term won upside as limited until Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke delivers congressional testimony later this week. 

Singapore’s Straits Times Index dropped 0.39% while S&P 500 futures inched down 0.05% a day after the benchmark U.S. index added 0.14%.