Asian stocks fall after US reports
Asian stock markets fell today as strong US company earnings failed to calm investor nerves in the face of economic reports that suggest the world's number one economy is struggling to maintain its recovery.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index dropped 0.4% to 9,548.14, a day after Japan reported a record annual trade deficit resulting from huge imports of oil and gas in the wake of an earthquake and tsunami last year that forced nearly all of Japan's nuclear power reactors off-line.
