Asian Stocks Gain Ground After Selloff on Euro Jitters
By wchung | 21 Mar, 2026

Asian stocks markets were mostly higher Monday but gains were tepid as investors stayed cautious about Europe’s debt problems even after a big jump on Wall Street.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average dropped 27.82 points, or 0.3 percent, to 9,756.72 while South Korea’s Kospi added 0.2 percent to 1,603.54. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.6 percent to 19,670.83.

Meanwhile, benchmarks in mainland China, Singapore, Taiwan and Australia rose, with the S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney adding 1.4 percent to 4,365.4 on a strong showing by miners.

In New York on Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 1.3 percent to 10,193.39, making back some of the steep losses recorded recently amid renewed worries about Europe’s debt problems.

But that did little to inspire confidence in the euro and its reliability as a currency. Asian exporters, particularly those who do significant business in Europe, lost some ground. Japan’s Olympus Corp. fell 1.1 percent, while South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co. slipped 0.1 percent.

The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 1.5 percent to 1,087.69, and the Nasdaq composite index added 1.1 percent to 2,229.04.

In currencies Monday, the dollar fell to 90.14 yen from 90.19 yen late Friday. The euro fell to $1.2508 from $1.2545.

Benchmark crude for July delivery was up 35 cents at $70.39 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

TOKYO (AP)