Managers warn of Japan GDP hit but impact 'less than Kobe'

Fund managers warn Japan could take a short-term hit to GDP following last week's earthquake and tsunami, but they are less concerned about the longer-term impact on the country's fragile economic recovery.

The catastrophic events on Friday hit Japan's stockmarket with the Nikkei 225 falling 6.2% on its first day of trading in the aftermath, despite the Bank of Japan announcing a cash injection of $183bn to bolster the economy. Fund managers and economists have spent the weekend trying to weigh up the implications of the disaster on Japan's economy which is struggling to recovery to pre-financial crisis levels. The Japanese economy grew 3.9% last year, its fastest performance in two decades. But output is still well below levels set before the global financial crisis and GDP actually con...