Asian Stocks Drop This Week on Middle East Unrest, Oil Prices
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Asian stocks fell this week amid concern instability in the Middle East and North Africa may derail a global economic rebound, reversing gains last week on signs the recovery was strengthening.
Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co., which gets 38 percent of sales from the Middle East, sank 6.2 percent in Seoul. Qantas Airways Ltd., Australia’s largest airline, slumped 6.3 percent in Sydney and Air China Ltd. tumbled 14 percent in Hong Kong as unrest in Libya drove fuel prices above $100 a barrel for the first time in two years. Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s largest carmaker, fell 3.4 percent in Tokyo.