Joe McConnell
Asian stock markets fell on Monday morning, following sharp declines in major global indices last week.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell about 6%, while the Topix fell more than 7%.
The news comes after weak US jobs data released on Friday raised fears of a recession in the world’s largest economy.
Meanwhile, the yen has strengthened against the U.S. dollar since the Bank of Japan raised interest rates last week, making Tokyo stocks more expensive for foreign investors.
Elsewhere in Asia, Taiwan’s main stock index fell 6.7%, with chip giant TSMC down more than 6%. In South Korea, the Kospi index fell more than 4%.
However, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell just 0.3% in morning trading, while the Shanghai Stock Exchange rose slightly.
New York stocks fell sharply on Friday after official employment data showed U.S. employers added 114,000 jobs in July, far fewer than expected.
The figures raised concerns that a long-running U.S. jobs boom may be coming to an end and fueled speculation about when and by how much the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates.
