by Daniel Leussink
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Asian markets broadly retreated Wednesday as dealers remained cautious, with airlines taking a hit in the aftermath of the deadly Brussels bombings.
The losses tracked a sell-off in tourism-related stocks in the United States and Europe following Tuesday’s carnage in Belgium.
Explosions in the Brussels subway and Zaventem airport just outside the Belgian capital, claimed by the Islamic State group, left around 35 dead and more than 200 injured.
Asian investors played it safe with few catalysts to drive trade as dealers eye the long Easter break that starts Friday, analysts said.
The mood across regional trading floors remained “cautious to negative”, Jackson Wong, Hong Kong-based associate director at Simsen Financial Group, told AFP.
“Investors are reluctant to get in (the market) at this point,” Wong said.
Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong closed 0.76 percent down, Tokyo-listed All Nippon Airways lost 0.51 percent and Korean Air Lines dropped 1.48 percent in Seoul by Wednesday’s end.
The losses came after a sell-off in travel-linked shares on Wall Street and in Europe.
In US trading, Expedia, American Airlines and Delta slipped following the news of the explosions.
InterContinental Hotels Group, Lufthansa and Air-France KLM were among the losers in Europe.
– Retraced losses –
Bernard Aw, Singapore-based market analyst at IG, said that the initial market reaction to the bombings was expected, but that investors quickly retraced losses.
“This is because the impact of terror attacks on financial markets has become less and less dramatic in recent years, compared with the aftermath of the September 11 attacks,” Aw wrote in a client note, referring to the events of 2001 in the US.
Most major markets in Asia fell on Wednesday, with Tokyo and Hong Kong diving into negative territory and Sydney, Seoul and Taipei finishing in the red.
However, Shanghai stocks bucked the trend, closing higher due to late buying after a day of volatile moves, although investors wondered if the market could stay above the key 3,000-point level.
On Tuesday, the Dow and the S&P 500 fell, but the Nasdaq finished up.
Europe’s main bourses — including London, Frankfurt, Paris and even Brussels — managed to carve out slight gains, recovering from initial falls after news of the blasts broke.
European markets pushed higher at the start of trading Wednesday.
Around 0825 GMT, the dollar rose to 112.53 yen from 112.35 yen in New York Tuesday. The euro slipped to $1.1190 and 125.92 yen from $1.1216 from 126.01 yen in US trade.
But emerging currencies broadly fell against the greenback amid the subdued market sentiment.
The South Korean won lost 0.6 percent, Singapore’s dollar was 0.4 percent down and the Thai baht declined 0.5 percent. Indonesia’s rupiah and the Taiwan dollar also retreated against the US currency.
Oil prices also dropped, as worries about global oversupply ahead of a major producers’ meeting in Qatar in April continue to dictate prices.
At around 0600 GMT, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for May delivery was down 52 cents at $40.93 while Brent for May was 43 cents lower at $41.36.
– Key figures around 0825 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3 percent at 17,000.98 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,009.96 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng: DOWN 0.3 percent at 20,615.23 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1190 from $1.1216 on Tuesday
Dollar/yen: UP at 112.53 yen from 112.35 yen
New York – Dow: DOWN 0.2 percent at 17,582.57 (close)
London – FTSE 100: UP less than 0.1 percent at 6,192.74 (open)
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