Global stocks hold their ground after Paris attacks
Brokers participate in a minute of silence for the victims of Friday’s terror attacks in Paris, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, Nov. 16, 2015. Arne Dedert/dpa via AP
NEW YORK, United States—European bourses held their ground Monday in nervous but volatile trade following the devastating Paris terror attacks, while US stocks finished solidly higher due to a rally in oil-linked shares.
The events in Paris hung over markets everywhere in the first session since Friday’s attacks on the French capital, which left 129 people dead and hundreds injured.
Traders globally punished airline stocks on concerns about reduced travel, while the dollar continued its march higher against the euro on the rising likelihood of more stimulus from the European Central bank.
“Friday’s truly awful events in Paris will obviously negatively impact on the Parisian economy in the near term, and there are also likely to be some knock-on effects elsewhere in France,” said a note from IHS.
“However, experience from the London subway and bus bombings in 2005 as well as the Madrid train bombings in 2004 suggest that the economic impact should be limited and temporary.”
The benchmark CAC 40 index of top French companies dived 1.1 percent in opening deals, then bounced briefly into gains before closing barely changed, down just 0.08 percent.
German stocks also bounced back and forth before closing up by a whisker.
British stocks held in positive territory as the FTSE 100 index added 0.5 percent on the day.
US stocks opened cautiously, but picked up momentum throughout the day, with the S&P 500 jumping 1.5 percent.
Oil producers, including Dow members ExxonMobil and Chevron, registered large gains after crude prices rebounded on reports that US-led coalition jets were targeting the Islamic State group’s oil operations in retaliation for Friday’s deadly attacks.
Across in Asia, markets mostly fell. Tokyo stocks shed one percent after data showed that Japanese gross domestic product (GDP) shrank 0.2 percent in the July-September period, or an annualized contraction of 0.8 percent, marking the second straight quarterly decline.
Sign of resilience
“In a sign of resilience there is no sign of the panicked trading that could have been justifiably expected from the European indices,” noted Spreadex trader Connor Campbell.
The Paris tragedy added however to uncertainty in already nervous markets, which ended last week on a low owing to increasing worries about the global economy.
The top faller in Paris was hotels giant Accor, with luxury goods groups LVMHnot far behind, as investors fretted over a likely drop in consumer demand after the attacks and hoteliers and restaurants eye a bookings slump for the months ahead.
Accor’s share price tumbled 4.7 percent to 39.52 euros while LVMH lost 1.39 percent to 160.15 euros.
Airlines took a major hit, with Germany’s Lufthansa dropping 2.3 percent to 13.05 euros, British Airways owner IAG losing 3.1 percent to 574.4 pence, and US carrier Delta Air Lines falling 2.2 percent to $47.93. Leading Japanese airlines also retreated.
US online tourism companies Expedia and Priceline fell by 2.1 percent and 2.4 percent respectively, while weapons makers Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin marched up by 4.4 percent and 3.5 percent.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide fell 3.6 percent as investors panned the $12.2 billion price it fetched from acquiring rival Marriott International. Marriott rose 1.4 percent.
Key figures at 2200 GMT
New York – Dow: UP 1.4 percent at 17,483.01 (close)
New York – S&P 500: UP 1.5 percent at 2,053.19 (close)
New York – Nasdaq: UP 1.2 percent at 4,984.62 (close)
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 6,146.38 (close)
Frankfurt – DAX 30: UP 0.1 percent at 10,713.23 (close)
Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.1 percent at 4,804.31 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.1 percent at 3,362.23 (close)
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.0 percent at 19,393.69 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN to $1.0687 from $1.0764 in late US trade Friday
Dollar/yen: UP to 123.18 yen from 122.62 yen
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