(ICIS) -- Shares of petrochemical companies in Asia tumbled on Monday on concerns over a worsening debt crisis in Europe after Standard & Poor's (S&P) lowered the credit ratings of nine countries in the eurozone. Asia is vulnerable to the economic woes of the industrialised West because Asia is reliant on exports for growth. Exports from Asia will be badly affected if another recession were to hit the US and the eurozone.
At 12:44 hours Singapore time (04:44 GMT), Mitsubishi Chemical was down by 0.95%, Mitsui Chemicals slipped by 2.57% and JX Holdings declined by 2.39%, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 index dipping by 132.26 points or 1.56% to 8,367.76.
In South Korea, Kumho Petrochemical declined by 5.72%, SK Innovation fell by 3.22%, LG Chem slipped by 0.87% and SK Innovation eased by 2.23% as the KOSPI composite index retreated by 27.56 points or 1.47% to 1,848.12.
In Hong Kong, Shanghai Petrochemical was down by 0.67% and PetroChina fell by 2.0% as the Hang Seng index declined by 182.57 points or 0.95% to 19,021.85.
The China Shanghai composite index decreased by 12.60 points or 0.56% to 2,231.98.
Recession risks have heightened in the eurozone after France and Austria lost their AAA investment grade sovereign rating, while Italy, Spain and Portugal received a two-notch downgrade last Friday.