On Friday, November 13, Paris experienced a harrowing series of terrorist attacks that left over 120 people dead, and over 350 injured. It was a tragic day that stunned thousands of people around the world, and many people are still in mourning and shock.
These attacks not only resulted in a loss of life, but also in a drop in the global stock market. Middle Eastern markets experienced a steep drop on Sunday, with the Saudi Arabian main index, the Tadawul, hitting a thirty-five month low; the Egyptian main index, the EGX 30, dropped four percent; and the United Arab Emirates market dropped 3.6-percent, and several stocks were even suspended after dropping the daily limit of ten percent.
European and Asian stocks also experienced a drop on Monday, with airline and tourist related companies experiencing the biggest hits. Air France was down five percent, French hotel group Accor dropped five percent, and British airways dropped three percent, as people sell off stock based on the assumption that tourists become wary of travelling after circumstances like these.
Eurotunnel Group, operator of the Channel Tunnel rail link, dropped three percent. Aeroports de Paris, the operator of Paris’ Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports, dropped nearly four percent, and LVMH and Gucci-owner Kering dropped one percent.
Easyjet dropped three percent early, but managed to recuperate and closed with a loss of less than one percent. Ryanair also dropped three percent early and closed at 1.4 percent.
Many economists feel that the travel industry will suffer across Europe, and Howard Archer of IHS Global Insights speculates that: “There could also be an adverse impact on tourism in some European countries where people think attacks are most likely to occur – not just in France.”
Fortunately, financial analysts didn’t expect a full blown market crash, and Ohn Brady, managing director of R.J. O’Brien said: “Markets are slowly becoming more and more immune to these types of events,”
