For the most part, stocks in Asia followed the
bearish lead of Wall Street, with additional fears springing from a series of explosions in Jakarta, possibly linked to ISIS. Japan's Nikkei skidded to a 2.7% loss after core machinery orders plunged. Elsewhere, South Korea's Kospi slid 0.9% following the central bank's decision to keep interest rates as is, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng gave back 0.6%. Breaking with the trend lower was China's Shanghai Composite, which bounced back from early losses to gain 2% amid a stabilizing yuan.
European markets are also taking it on the chin, with traders rattled by potential terrorism in Indonesia, as well as new 12-year lows for Brent crude futures. At last check, London's FTSE 100 is down 1.4%, after the Bank of England voted to stand pat on interest rates. Elsewhere, the German DAX is off 2.1%, while the French CAC 40 has fallen 2.2% amid reports of an emissions fraud investigation into Renault -- sending the automaker's shares down 10% in Paris. Separately, the European Central Bank's December meeting minutes were just released, revealing a number of policymakers want deeper rate cuts.
