Impact

Explanatory text: Share price trends following the Kobe earthquake show only partial similarities with the trends following the attack on the WTC. In the first week after the disaster, the Japanese share index lost up to 9% of its value. Global stock markets recorded losses too. At only about 4%, however, these were within the normal variation range for stock markets. The shares of insurance companies were also affected only slightly more than the market as a whole.

Unlike following the attack of 11 September, there were no short-term reactions on the fixed-income markets following the Kobe earthquake. Unlike New York, Kobe was not a financial centre, and there were no fears of severe market liquidity problems. (Source: Datastream, 2004)