On 16 November, 2015 – Global markets were mixed in the aftermath of the Paris attacks late Friday

US stocks staged a rally after last week’s selloff; European markets were mixed as weak travel and leisure stocks were balanced out by gains in energy stocks; most Asian markets slid as investors fled to safe haven assets such as the Japanese yen and gold.
United States
US stocks rebounded after their worst week since an August selloff, paced by energy shares amid speculation that any fallout from Friday’s terrorist attacks in Paris would have a limited economic impact. Gains were led by energy companies as the price of oil turned higher after a recent slump. The Dow Jones industrials were up 1.4%, the S&P added 1.5% and the Nasdaq added 1.2%.
Defense contractors were up and travel and airlines companies were down as traders responded to the terrorist attacks in Paris. Raytheon and Northrup Grumman advanced while Delta Air Lines declined. Marriott International announced it would buy the rival hotel chain Starwood for US$12.2 billion in cash and stock. If completed, the deal would make Marriott the world’s largest hotelier by a wide margin. Shares in Marriott gained while Starwood shares declined. Shares in several energy companies moved higher including Consol Energy, Cabot Oil & Gas and Murphy Oil advanced. Investors bid up shares in several military contractors including Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon.
Travel companies including Priceline Group and Expedia shares declined as did those of Carnival, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and United Continental. Dillard’s sunk to a three-year low after the department store operator reported disappointing results for the third quarter. During the quarter, Dillard’s said sales at stores open at least year — considered a key measure of a retailer’s health — fell 4%. The company said there was weak demand for men’s clothing, women’s lingerie and home and furniture. Liberty Global will buy Cable & Wireless for US$5.5 billion. The deal will expand Liberty’s coverage across the Caribbean and Latin America.
These data reflect observations at 4:00 PM US ET. Gold at the afternoon London fixing was up US$3.25 to US$1,084.75. Copper futures were down 2.1% to US$2.12. WTI spot crude was down US$1.35 to US$42.09. Dated Brent spot crude was up 44 US cents to US$44.91. The US dollar was up against all of its major counterparts including the euro, yen, pound, Swiss franc and the Canadian and Australian dollars. The Dollar Index was up 0.4%. The yield on US Treasury 30 year bond was up 1 basis point to 3.06% while the yield on the 10 year note was unchanged at 2.27%.
Europe
Markets were mixed at the close on Monday. Initially markets pulled back in early trading following the Paris terrorist attacks Friday evening. However, they declined only about 1% and quickly recovered. Travel and leisure stocks were under pressure but gains in energy stocks helped to balance out the performance of the markets. The FTSE was up 0.5% while the CAC slipped 0.1%. The SMI lost 0.3% and the DAX was virtually unchanged.
The terrorist attacks in Paris late last week complicate the problems faced by the euro area and subsequent events will determine how the event affects the 19-nation economy, European Central Bank Vice President Vitor Constancio said Monday. Speaking at an event in Frankfurt, Constancio said the Paris attacks “could compound all the problems we were already facing”. “Markets, so far, are taking it calmly,” he added. However, further events linked to the attack could have an impact on household and investor confidence and risk aversion.
Travel and tourism associated firms declined. In Frankfurt, Lufthansa dropped. TUI, International Consolidated Air Group, Carnival and Intercontinental Hotel Group declined. In Paris, hotel group Accor declined as did Air France-KLM. Fresenius Medical Care and Fresenius both weakened. LVMH and Kering were lower. Banks Crédit Agricole, BNP Paribas and Société Générale retreated. In London, Premier Oil climbed 7 after announcing the sale of its Norwegian business. Taylor Wimpey rose after saying it had seen an excellent summer selling season and the trend could strengthen further in the autumn period. Sonova Holding was down in Zurich. The hearing aids maker slashed its full-year sales and profit forecasts. Shares in AstraZeneca climbed after Clovis Oncology said the US Food and Drug Administration had asked for more data on its lung cancer drug, which could delay its approval. A similar drug from AstraZeneca got early US approval last week.
Asia Pacific
Most stock indices declined Monday as the Paris terror attacks over the weekend sent investors in search of safe haven assets such as the Japanese yen and gold. Travel and airline stocks bore the brunt of the selling as investors wondered what the Paris terror attacks will do to consumer confidence and key parts of the global economy. Sluggish Japanese third quarter GDP also weighed on investor sentiment.
Chinese stocks reversed early losses to end higher after the renminbi moved closer to joining the other top global currencies in the International Monetary Fund’s Special Drawing Rights (SDR) currency basket. Shrugging off news of increased deposit requirement for margin trading, the Shanghai Composite ended the session up 0.7% but the Hang Seng retreated 1.7% amid increased risk aversion following the Paris attacks.
The Nikkei slid 1.0% after the first estimate of third quarter gross domestic product indicated that the economy was once again in a technical recession. GDP contracted an annualized 0.8%. Export oriented stocks like Canon, Honda Motor, Panasonic and Toshiba retreated as the safe haven yen firmed up against the dollar and euro. Aviation group ANA Holdings and Japan Airlines tumbled.
Both the S&P/ASX and the All Ordinaries lost 0.9%. The big four banks were down. Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton were lower as was Qantas Airways. Oil & gas producer Santos climbed 4% after crude prices rebounded in Asia. Newcrest rallied after safe haven bids bolstered the price of gold. The Kospi was down 1.5%. Both Asiana Airlines and Korean dropped along with Samsung Electronics. The Sensex added 0.6% after the wholesale price index dropped for a 12th straight month in October.
Global Stock Market Recap

Please remember, the value of investments and the income from them can do down as well as up. Funds that invest in overseas markets may be subject to currency fluctuations. Investments in small and emerging markets can be more volatile than other overseas markets. Reference in this document to specific securities should not be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell these securities, but is included for the purposes of illustration only.
Looking forward*
The UK posts October consumer and producer prices. Germany releases November ZEW survey. In the US, October consumer prices and industrial production will be released along with third quarter E-Commerce retail sales.
*Note — all releases are listed in local time.