Asian markets plunge amid US recession fears
Global stock markets continued plummeting for a second day today, amid fears that a possible US recession will cause a worldwide economic slowdown.
The dramatic declines in Asia and Europe were expected to spread to Wall Street, where stock index futures were already down sharply hours before the trading day began.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, the benchmark for Asia’s biggest bourse, skidded 4.4% in morning trading to 12,738.31 points, after dropping 3.9% yesterday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 7.2% after plunging 5.5% the day before.
“Unless we get some positive ’shock effects’ such as drastic measures from the US government, there is almost no hope for a recovery in stocks,” said Koji Takeuchi, senior economist at Mizuho Research Institute in Tokyo.
US markets were closed yesterday for a holiday commemorating civil rights leader Martin Luther King. But Wall Street future prices were down sharply, portending a plunge when trading begins at 9.30am Eastern time (2.30pm Irish time).
Dow Jones industrial average futures were down 436 points, or 3.6%, at 11,670, while Standard & Poor’s 500 futures were down 57.1 points, or 4.3%, at 1,268.
