Asian markets open lower after Credit Suisse crash

Tokyo The crisis at the major Swiss bank Credit Suisse also led to losses on the Asian stock exchanges on Thursday. The Nikkei 225 index of the 225 largest Japanese stocks slipped by 2.2 percent in the first few minutes of trading, and the share prices of the major local banks by more than six percent. However, prices recovered slightly afterwards.

The broader Topix index was down more than a percent in early trade. In China, the Shanghai Stock Exchange also posted losses.

The yen, meanwhile, has surged against the dollar and especially the euro as Japan’s national currency is once again viewed as a safe haven. At times, the yen rose by more than two yen against the dollar to 132 yen, and against the euro even rose by almost five yen to the 140 yen area. But here, too, concerns quickly subsided and the yen weakened again.