Business

Asian stocks fall as Paris attacks send economic worries

Posted November 15, 2015 6:00 am

By YURI KAGEYAMA

Traders John Santiago, left, and Michael Smyth work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Nov. 13, 2015. Sharp declines in retailers were dragging the stock market lower in early trading as investors worry that holiday sales could slump. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) The Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) - Asian stocks fell, opening the global trading day Monday after terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday last week sent worries across the world about their possible economic effects.

KEEPING SCORE: Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 fell nearly 1 percent to 19,407.07 in morning trading. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.8 percent to 5,012.90. South Korea's Kospi was down 1 percent at 1,952.17. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.6 percent to 22,041.53 while the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.5 percent to 3,562.81. Other regional markets were also lower, including Taiwan and Singapore.

PARIS WORRIES: The attacks left 129 people dead and more than 350 injured. Investors, already nervous about slowing growth in China and the future of the eurozone, are fretting about stocks and oil prices. Travel could slow not only to Paris but other major cities, hurting airlines and other related businesses. A decline in tourism in Europe could weaken the euro.

THE QUOTE: "The Paris attack over the weekend may trigger risk aversion in the early part of the week. We may thus see a knee-jerk reaction in asset markets today," says Cynthia Jane Kalasopatan of the Singapore Treasury Division at Mizuho Bank.

TRAVEL ISSUES: Qantas Airways fell 1.8 percent, recovering an earlier bigger fall. Japan Airlines fell nearly 3 percent, while ANA Holdings slipped 2.4 percent. Major Japanese travel company HIS Co. dropped 4.7 percent.

WALL STREET: On Friday, before the attacks happened, a streak of six consecutive weeks of gains was broken on fears the holiday shopping season will be a dud. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 202.83 points, or 1.2 percent, to 17,245.24. The Standard & Poor's 500 gave up 22.93 points, or 1.1 percent, to 2,023.04. The Nasdaq composite index slipped 77.20 points, or 1.5 percent, to 4,927.88.

ENERGY: U.S. crude added 28 cents to $41.02 a barrel. Brent crude, which is used to price international oils, was up 50 cents to $44.97 a barrel.

CURRENCIES: The euro declined to $1.0723 from $1.0751 late last week, while the dollar edged down to $122.45 yen from $122.67 yen late last week.

___

AP Markets Writer Marley Jay contributed to this report. Follow him at twitter.com/marleyjayAP

His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/journalist/marley-jay

Follow Yuri Kageyama at twitter.com/yurikageyama

Her work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/yuri-kageyama

Trader Gregory Rowe, left, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Nov. 13, 2015. Sharp declines in retailers were dragging the stock market lower in early trading as investors worry that holiday sales could slump. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) The Associated Press

Traders David O'Day, left, and Benedict Willis work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Nov. 13, 2015. Sharp declines in retailers were dragging the stock market lower in early trading as investors worry that holiday sales could slump. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) The Associated Press

Trader Ryan Falvey, center, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Nov. 13, 2015. Sharp declines in retailers were dragging the stock market lower in early trading as investors worry that holiday sales could slump. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) The Associated Press

Trader Christopher Morie, left, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Nov. 13, 2015. Sharp declines in retailers were dragging the stock market lower in early trading as investors worry that holiday sales could slump. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) The Associated Press

Trader Vincent Napolitano, center, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Nov. 13, 2015. Sharp declines in retailers were dragging the stock market lower in early trading as investors worry that holiday sales could slump. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) The Associated Press

Trader George Ettinger works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Nov. 13, 2015. Sharp declines in retailers were dragging the stock market lower in early trading as investors worry that holiday sales could slump. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) The Associated Press

Trader Robert Arciero, left, and David Williams on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Nov. 13, 2015. Sharp declines in retailers were dragging the stock market lower in early trading as investors worry that holiday sales could slump. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) The Associated Press

Article Comments

Article Categories
Business Content Providers Markets

Article Comments

Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.