SEOUL, South Korea: The first American case of Ebola and doubts about US and European recoveries lowered Asian stocks on Thursday.
The first case of Ebola in the US hit airlines as investors perceived that people would not be travelling more. The Asian markets mostly fell due to sudden contraction of German manufacturing data in September for the first time in 15 months which was manifestation of Europe being affected by sanctions imposed on Moscow for its role in Ukraine crisis. Further, the Institute for Supply Management’s crucial survey was not up to expectations which encouraged a selloff on Wall Street.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell by 1.7 percent to 15,815.45 points while Kospi of South Korea declines 0.9 percent to 1,973.31. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.7 percent to 5,295.7. In the same, stocks in Southeast Asia also fell. There was public holiday in Hong Kong and China and markets were closed there.