The downgrade of the sovereign debt of nine EU nations, including France, battered stock markets in Asia and Europe.
The Nikkei 225 dropped 1.43% to 8,378. The Hang Seng was off 1% to 19,012.
In Europe, the FTSE 100 was off by .33% to 5,617. The DAX reverse and was slightly higher by .37% to 6,167. As might be expected, the hardest hit stocks were those of banks, many of which hold the sovereign debt of troubled nations in the region
