Japan has pulled out of recession after a year of contraction posting gross domestic product growth of 0.9 per cent in the second quarter of the year.Despite the headline growth, stock markets in Asia moved lower this morning (August 17th) as traders demonstrated disappointment that the target of one per cent growth had not been hit.Japan now joins neighbouring Hong Kong and Singapore in posting growth, while France and Germany also last week inspired confidence in the European economy with positive GDP figures for the second quarter.Following the publication of the Japanese data this morning, yen climbed against the euro, approaching its highest point in two weeks.Speaking to Bloomberg, Koji Fukaya, a senior currency strategist in Tokyo at Deutsche Bank, said that weaker stocks were provoking a move to safe-haven currencies."The yen is being bought as falling stocks increase risk aversion. Stocks are in a downtrend as the economic outlook remains iffy. The euro will likely continue to drop against the yen," he explained.