Airlines tumble on Paris attack as Asia stocks retreat

Asian markets mostly fell today following the deadly weekend terror attacks in Paris -- with airline stocks taking a beating on concerns over the tourism industry.

The late-night assault on Friday in the French capital, which killed 129 people, also sent the euro tumbling on fears for security in Europe and its effect on the already struggling eurozone economy.

It added to uncertainty in already nervous markets, which ended last week on a low owing to increasing worries about the state of the global economy.

While losses rippled across Asian stock markets, airlines were among the worst hit.

Japan Airlines sank almost 3% and rival ANA was 3.5% off, while in Sydney Virgin Australia plunged 6.5%. Indonesian flag carrier Garuda fell 1.3%.

In Shanghai there was big selling in China Eastern Airlines, Air China and China Southern Airlines, while tourist firms also retreated, with China CYTS Tours Holding and China International Travel Service each down more than 1%.

"There will definitely be a negative psychological impact in the short term in tourism-related sectors. Airlines are particularly affected," Zhang Qi, a Shanghai-based analyst with Haitong Securities, told Bloomberg News. The situation in France is "still quite uncertain now, so investors seem to be broadly risk-off today."

Regional stock indexes were also mostly lower, with Hong Kong 1.6% off in the afternoon, while Tokyo fell more than one% and Sydney gave up 0.9%.

"There is no doubt that the attacks in Paris will contribute to short-term investor nervousness," Shane Oliver, Sydney-based strategist at AMP Capital Investors, said.

However, he said he expected the Paris-linked losses to be brief and pointed out that markets had bounced back from initial selling following past terror attacks.

Selling also hit the euro, which was already under pressure from expectations the European Central Bank will loosen monetary policy to shore up the eurozone. High-risk emerging market currencies such as the South Korean won and Indonesian rupiah also fell as investors looked for safer bets such as the dollar and yen.