The deadly late-night assault on Friday in Paris, which left 129 people dead and 352 injured, also sent the euro tumbling on fears for security in Europe and its effect on the already struggling eurozone economy.
“Equity markets remained under pressure … as the attacks in Paris on Friday caused high uncertainty,” said Sucden analyst Myrto Sokou.
“The tragic events limited any risk appetite and caused nervous trading conditions.”
The benchmark CAC 40 index of top French companies dived 1.1 percent in opening deals, then bounced briefly into gains before pulling back to show a slender loss of 0.2 percent.
Frankfurt’s DAX 30 index dipped 0.1 percent, whileLondon’s FTSE 100 rebounded from initial losses to show a gain of 0.2 percent from Friday.
Sign of resilience
“In a sign of resilience there is no sign of the panicked trading that could have been justifiably expected from the European indices,” noted Spreadex trader ConnorCampbell.
The Paris tragedy added however to uncertainty in already nervous markets, which ended last week on a low owing to increasing worries about the global economy.
Sentiment was also dented by news that Japan fell back into recession in the third quarter.
“In the aftermath of the weekend tragedy it is little wonder that investor sentiment is dented this morning with sectors related to tourism and travel all taking a hit,” added London Capital Group analyst Brenda Kelly.
Top fallers in Paris were hotels giant Accor, and luxury goods groups LVMH and Kering, as investors fretted over a likely drop in consumer demand in the wake of the attacks.
Accor’s share price tumbled 5.42 percent to 39.23 euros.
LVMH and Kering fell by 1.14 percent and 1.15 percent, to stand at 160.55 euros and 163.40 euros respectively.
Airlines take hit
Europe’s airlines also took a major hit, withGermany’s Lufthansa diving 2.88 percent to 12.97 euros in Frankfurt.
And in London, British Airways owner IAG lost 2.28 percent to 579 pence, and low-cost rival EasyJet shed 1.01 percent to 1,772 pence.
However, Rebecca O’Keeffe, head of investment at stockbroker Interactive Investor, noted that markets were resilient on the whole.
“In a major sign of defiance, equity markets have fallen far less than expected and, outside of tourism and transport stocks, remain resilient,” she said.
Across in Asia, markets mostly fell Monday following the Paris attacks — with airline stocks also taking a beating.
Japan Airlines sank almost three percent and rivalANA was down 3.5 percent, while in Sydney Virgin Australia plunged 6.5 percent. Indonesian flag carrierGaruda also retreated more than one percent, whileHong Kong’s Cathay Pacific was 2.7 percent lower.
Sentiment was also dented by news that Japan’s economy slipped back into recession in the third quarter, with Tokyo stocks losing one percent.
Japanese gross domestic product (GDP) shrank 0.2 percent in the July-September period, or an annualised contraction of 0.8 percent, marking the second straight quarterly decline — considered a technical recession.
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.
Key figures at 0930 GMT
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 6,133.90 points
Frankfurt – DAX 30: DOWN 0.1 percent at 10,701
Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.2 percent at 4,799.30
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.2 percent at 3,174.60
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.0 percent at 19,393.69 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN to $1.0728 from $1.0764 in late US trade Friday
Dollar/yen: UP to 122.87 yen from 122.62 yen
