Asia-Pacific stock indexes fell on Monday on fears of a U.S. recession after weaker-than-expected jobs data. Japan’s Nikkei stock average fell more than 3 percent after second-quarter GDP grew 2.9 percent from a year earlier, beating expectations of a 3.2 percent increase.
The Nikkei and Korea Composite Stock Price Indexes were down 2.19% and 1.44%, respectively. The S&P ASX 200 was down 0.79% as of 6:46 a.m.
Worrying data caught Wall Street risk asset traders off guard this week, leading to the worst stock performance since the 2023 regional banking crisis.
Stock indexes closed near the day’s lows after a weak start. The S&P 500 closed down 1.73% to 5,408.42, its fourth straight day of declines following the weaker-than-expected jobs report. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.01% to 40,345.41, and the Nasdaq Composite Index was down 1.14% to 18,664.14.
Brent crude oil rose 1.04% to close at $71.80 a barrel, while gold closed 0.02% lower at $2,496.79 an ounce. As of 6:49 a.m.
GIFT Nifty was trading at 24,818.50, up 44.50 points or 0.18 per cent, as at 6:49 am.
India’s main stock index continued to fall on Friday, its worst week in three months, as concerns spread about the health of the U.S. economy ahead of the release of jobs data. The sell-off was broad-based, with banking and energy sectors hit hardest.
The NSE Nifty 50 fell 292.95 points or 1.17 percent to close at 24,852.15, its third consecutive day of decline. The S&P BSE Sensex shed 1,017.23 points or 1.24 percent to close at 81,183.93, its fourth consecutive day of decline. Both indices lost nearly Rs 4 trillion in market capitalization.
Overseas investors were net sellers of Indian stocks for the second consecutive day on Friday. Foreign portfolio investors sold shares worth Rs 6,887 crore, while domestic institutional investors were net buyers for the fifth consecutive day, buying shares worth Rs 2,121.5 crore, according to provisional data from the National Stock Exchange.
The Indian rupee ended higher against the US dollar on Friday after nearly touching the psychologically important level of Rs 84 in the previous session.
