Shipping stocks battered after US port strike ends

Shares in shipping companies fell heavily in Europe andAsia on Friday after workers and U.S. port operators agreed a deal to end a strike on the East and Gulf coast docks far sooner than expected.

In early trading in Europe, shipping group A.P. Moeller-Maersk MAERSKb.CO fell 7.7% to the bottom of the STOXX 600, while Hapag-Lloyd HLAG.DE was down 12.4%.

Switzerland’s Kuehne und Nagel KNIN.S was down 1.8%.

Evergreen Marine 2603.TW, Wan Hai Lines 2615.TW and Yang Ming Marine 2609.TW in Taiwan fell between 8.8% and 10% in their heaviest drops for several months.

Japanese shippers Nippon Yusen 9101.T, Kawasaki Kisen 9107.T and Mitsui OSK Lines 9104.T logged drops between 7% and 9% and were the largest decliners on the Topix index .TOPX.

“Investors who hoped for a short-term rebound in freight charges, which are in a downward trend, are selling as the strike ended,” said Yang Ji-hwan, an analyst at Daishin Securities.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Jihoon Lee in Seoul, Tom Westbrook in Sydney and Lucy Raitano in London; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)