Insurance companies and reinsurers are taking the brunt of the punishment. The Travelers Companies Inc. (NYSE: TRV) is down 1% in Germany, and Allstate Corp. (NYSE: ALL) is down 0.8%. Swiss Re is down nearly 3%, and Munich Re is down about 2%.
Other U.S.-traded shares that are included in the STOXX 50 include Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD), Deutsche Bank A.G. (NYSE: DB) ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT), among others.
On the FTSE 100, BHP Billiton plc (NYSE: BHP) is down more than 1% and Rio Tinto PLC (NYSE: RIO) is down more than 1.6%. Prudential Financial Inc. is down about 0.5% and BP PLC (NYSE: BP) is off 1.5%.
Some oil refiners that do not trade in Europe, but that have operations on the East Coast include Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX), Hess Corp. (NYSE: HES) and Delta Air Lines Co. (NYSE: DAL). These refineries may have to be shut down or reduce their outputs as a safety measure.
WTI crude is trading down in electronic trading today at about $85.88 a barrel, while Brent crude is up about 0.4% at $109.30.
Paul Ausick