Looks like it’s going to be another bad day on Wall Street:
TOKYO — Markets in Asia and Europe fell again Monday, extending their slide into a second week as investors worried about a possible global slowdown dumped stocks that had surged in recent weeks.
Also sparking jitters was the yen’s jump to a three-month high against the dollar as investors reversed so-called yen-carry trades. A decline in this trading practice, which involves borrowing money at Japan’s ultra-low interest rates to invest in higher-yielding assets elsewhere, could hurt global liquidity.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index fell for a fifth day, tumbling 575.68 points, or 3.34 percent, to 16,642.25 points, dragged down by major exporters such as Canon Inc., Sony Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp., whose earnings are eroded by a stronger yen. Since reaching a nearly seven-year high last Monday, the Nikkei index has slid 8.64 percent.
Markets in Hong Kong, Australia, the Philippines, Malaysia, India and South Korea all fell sharply Monday, continuing their declines from last week, when a 9 percent plunge in Chinese stocks on Tuesday triggered cascading selloffs on Wall Street and other global markets.
European markets also opened lower Monday, with Britain’s benchmark FTSE 100 down 1.5 percent in early trading, France’s CAC 40 sliding 1.8 percent and Germany’s DAX sinking 2.1 percent.
“I don’t know where the domino effect will stop,” said Jose Vistan, research director at AB Capital Securities in Manila, Philippines, where the benchmark index sank 4.5 percent. “Emotions are the ones driving share prices right now.”
That’s usually how these things go.
