KUALA LUMPUR – The Nikkei index led the collapse of Asian and European markets when it closed with the largest single-day point drop in history, shedding more than 4,400 points or 12.4%.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended down 4,451.28 points, or 12.4%, from Friday at 31,458.42. The broader Topix index fell 310.45 points, or 12.23%, to 2,227.15, reported Kyodo news.
This scale of losses was not seen since the 2011 global financial crisis, according to Reuters.
This comes after the weak US July data released last Friday, which saw the unemployment rate at its highest since October 2021.
It has led to fears of a recession in the world’s top economy and expectations of several Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.
Meanwhile, Nasdaq futures sank 4.7%, while S&P 500 futures shedded 12.4%, and Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell 2.1% and FTSE futures 1.2%.
Seoul and Taipei also dropped more than 8% each, while Singapore plummeted nearly 5% and Sydney more than 3%. The slump also affected Hong Kong, Shanghai, Mumbai, Bangkok, Manila, Jakarta, Wellington, London, Paris and Frankfurt. – August 5, 2024