AFP, Hong Kong :
Asian markets were mixed Wednesday as an earlier rally had the wind taken out of it after Pakistan said it had shot down two Indian jets in its airspace in Kashmir, fuelling concerns of conflict between the nuclear-armed rivals.
Regional investors had been in a broadly upbeat mood owing to optimism about a China-US trade deal, a dovish outlook on monetary policy from Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell and easing Brexit worries.
But trading floors were shaken in the afternoon by a statement from the Pakistan Air Force that it had downed the two planes and arrested one of the pilots.
That came as Indian sources said Pakistani fighter jets had violated airspace over Indian Kashmir, but were forced back over the de facto border of the disputed territory.
The developments came a day after warplanes struck a site in Pakistan that New Delhi said was a militant training camp, in retaliation for a February 14 suicide bombing in the disputed region that that killed 40 Indian troops.
Islamabad vowed to retaliate – fuelling fears of a dangerous confrontation.
“This is unprecedented territory, we haven’t had tit-for-tat air strikes between India and Pakistan since the 1971 war,” Anit Mukherjee, a former Indian Army major and assistant professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, told Bloomberg News.
“We don’t know what will come from this. But it seems like Pakistan has given a response. And there have been casualties – captures, deaths.”
Markets fell sharply on the reports but managed to claw back some of the losses.
Asian markets were mixed Wednesday as an earlier rally had the wind taken out of it after Pakistan said it had shot down two Indian jets in its airspace in Kashmir, fuelling concerns of conflict between the nuclear-armed rivals.
Regional investors had been in a broadly upbeat mood owing to optimism about a China-US trade deal, a dovish outlook on monetary policy from Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell and easing Brexit worries.
But trading floors were shaken in the afternoon by a statement from the Pakistan Air Force that it had downed the two planes and arrested one of the pilots.
That came as Indian sources said Pakistani fighter jets had violated airspace over Indian Kashmir, but were forced back over the de facto border of the disputed territory.
The developments came a day after warplanes struck a site in Pakistan that New Delhi said was a militant training camp, in retaliation for a February 14 suicide bombing in the disputed region that that killed 40 Indian troops.
Islamabad vowed to retaliate – fuelling fears of a dangerous confrontation.
“This is unprecedented territory, we haven’t had tit-for-tat air strikes between India and Pakistan since the 1971 war,” Anit Mukherjee, a former Indian Army major and assistant professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, told Bloomberg News.
“We don’t know what will come from this. But it seems like Pakistan has given a response. And there have been casualties – captures, deaths.”
Markets fell sharply on the reports but managed to claw back some of the losses.
