Japan’s Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd sank as much as 13% in Tokyo, while Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd slumped more than 9%.

In South Korea, Pan Ocean Co Ltd slipped as much as 5.5% and Korea Line Corp fell 3.9%, while Hong Kong-listed Cosco Shipping Holdings Co plunged as much as 12% in early trading.

Thailand’s Regional Container Lines PCL also slid.

“The view had been that the container shipping market would rise as a result of the strike continuing,” said Tsuyoshi Hori, an analyst at Mito Securities Co in Tokyo.

“The suspension means that hope was dashed, and short-term traders are already reversing their trades,” Tsuyoshi said.

US dockworkers have agreed to start moving cargo again while they continue collective bargaining with their employers on a new contract, the union representing the workers said in a statement yesterday.

Container ports from Houston to Miami and up to Boston have been closed since the labour contract expired Tuesday.

The port strikes had been expected to provide some support to container rates after several weeks of declines, Bloomberg Intelligence analysts wrote in a report earlier this week.

“Those who had hoped shippers’ business performance would improve are selling.
“But geopolitical risks are unlikely to subside, and freight rates are unlikely to fall excessively. If the share price falls, investors aiming for dividend yields will likely buy,” said Ikuo Mitsui, a fund manager at Aizawa Securities Co.