DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Tokyo stocks closed lower after a disappointing report on economic growth.</s>DEBORAH MARCHINI, CNN ANCHOR: But Hong Kong rallied. Michelle Han wraps up the day in Asian markets from our studios in Hong Kong. Hi, Michelle.</s>MICHELLE HAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Deborah. Well, stocks may be down, but overall there is news that the Japanese economy is coming back to life, although not as quickly as predicted by some economists. The country's gross domestic product grew 2.4 percent for the first three months of this year, that stopped a six-month economic slide and it is also the biggest gain in four years as Japan tries to recover from its worst post-war skid. Officials say the improvement is due to both improved domestic demand and private capital spending. The growth is also significant because government spending actually fell 7.5 percent during the quarter. The government has tried to jump start a recovery through public spending and record-low interest rates. Growth for the full fiscal year, which ended in March, came in at 1 1/2 percent, just short of official predictions. Economists say the number show Japan is close to achieving a self- sustaining recovery with one percent growth forecast. Now those figures, which were slightly below analysts' expectations, contributed to the Nikkei closing lower. It was down 142 points, or eight-tenths of one percent, but for the week still managed to gain three-tenths of a percent, as I mentioned, for the week. Hong Kong had a rally after midday as bargain hunters jumped in, lifting the index up almost two percent. The index was up almost 5 1/2 percent for the week. And Seoul was up more than four percent and registered a weekly gain of almost 10 percent.</s>MARCHINI: All right, thank you, Michelle.
Tokyo Stocks Lower After Disappointing Report on Economic Growth; Hong Kong Rallies