Japanese Recession and Paris Attacks Hit Asian Markets

Stock markets in Asia Pacific have fallen sharply in the wake of the Paris terror attacks and downbeat economic data.

Leading the losers was the Nikkei index in Japan which tumbled nearly 1.3% as official figures showed that the country’s economy had entered recession for the fifth time in seven years.

The widely tracked CBOE volatility index or “fear gauge” was at its highest level since 2 October and bourses in Australia, South Korea and Hong Kong all saw substantial falls of more than 1% in early trading.

In Europe, futures trade pointed to sharp falls in the main markets with the FTSE100 predicted to be down 40 points or around 0.6% at the open and the Dax in Germany down 1%.

The French financial markets were due to open as usual on Monday, with extra security measures taken for staff, stock and derivatives, the Euronext exchange said. The CAC40 French bourse was set to open 2% lower on Monday.

With concerns about how European leaders would respond to the Paris attacks, the euro was sold heavily in Asian trading and fell to a six-month low of $1.071.

Global security concerns were better news for some commodities, however, as Brent crude oil was up 1% at $44.92 a barrel after shedding 1% on Friday. US crude was up about 0.54% at $40.96 a barrel. Gold added about 0.5% to stand at $1,091.96 an ounce.

via The Guardian

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