Risk appetite crept back in the markets this morning as superior corporate earnings forecasts from Japan, positive housing and stronger manufacturing data from Australia combined with weaker Chinese manufacturing contributed to a weaker US Dollar and Japanese Yen. The Nikkei closed +0.35% higher this morning as heavyweights like Hitachi and Honda reported positive earnings forecasts for the rest of 2010 - putting doubts that the Asian recovery is slowing in the back of investors' minds for the time being. The Shanghai composite similarly closed higher this morning, up +1.33% as negative data collected in a survey by HSBC showed that China's manufacturing was at the lowest level in a year, releasing at 49.4 from a previous reading of 50.4. Although negative, the reading was viewed in a positive light as markets speculated it would stimulate the Chinese authorities to do more to support growth towards the last two quarters of 2010. The USDJPY was trading a touch higher on the positively perceived combo of releases this morning, this of course following Friday's trading session in which the USDJPY hit a 2010 low of 85.95.