Asia stocks stall on uneven Europe recovery

Asian stock markets stalled Thursday, following evidence of an uneven recovery in Europe and lackluster U.S. consumer spending, AP reported. The combined economy of the 17 euro countries grew 0.3 percent in the April-June period, its first quarter of growth since recession hit the region in late 2011. But analysts attributed much of the rebound to the region's two largest economies, Germany and France. Germany's GDP for the period rose 0.7 percent, while's France rose an unexpected 0.5 percent. Europe's smaller economies remained bogged down in debt and high unemployment, problems that will take years to resolve. "What the GDP numbers have done is expose the continued fragmentation within a region where the various economies have different competitive advantages," said Michael Hewson, senior market strategist at CMC Markets. Japan's Nikkei 225 index tumbled 2.2 percent to 13,746.59. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.1 percent to 22,570.74. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.2 percent to 5,148.90. Benchmark indexes in Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia and the Philippines fell. New Zealand's rose. Mainland China was mixed. South Korean markets were closed for a public holiday.