Asia-Pacific stocks extend sales; Japan’s Nikkei falls 12% as global markets shake

Asia-Pacific shares were in the red on Monday, trailing losses on Wall Street as concerns about a US recession rattled global markets and disappointing earnings from major technology companies.

Japan (NKY:IND) -12.40%. Japanese stocks posted their biggest one-day decline since then The “Black Monday” of 1987, entering bear market territory. Expectations of further rate hikes from the Bank of Japan have also pressured financial markets as long-held yen trades are quickly being written off.

Japan’s services PMI for July was revised down.

China (SHCOMP) -1.54%. Mainland shares fall for third straight session on mixed PMI numbers from China. On Monday, a private survey indicated that activity in China’s services sector improved from an eight-month low last month.

Traders were cautious ahead of the release of China’s July trade data and inflation readings in the next few days.

Hong Kong (HSI) -2.06%. Hong Kong shares fell for a third session as they held to 3-1/2-month lows amid a sharp drop in U.S. futures.

The S&P Global Hong Kong SAR PMI rose to 49.5 in July 2024 from 48.2 in June, indicating the third consecutive month of decline in private sector activity.

India (SENSEX) -3.11%. Indian shares fell in early trade on Monday, a second consecutive day of losses. Traders are anticipating RBI’s monetary policy decision later this week.

HSBC India services PMI was revised to 60.3 in July 2024 from 61.1 in preliminary estimates and 60.5 final in June.

Australia (AS51) -3.70%. The S&P/ASX 200 fell on Monday after losing 2.1% in the previous session, hitting a two-month low, as investors braced for the Reserve Bank of Australia’s latest monetary policy decision.

Activity in Australia’s services sector grew at its slowest pace in six months.

In the US on Friday, all three major indexes ended in the red as Friday’s data showed a sharp slowdown in US job growth, a rise in the unemployment rate and slower wage growth. This came on top of weak manufacturing data, with the ISM Manufacturing PMI revealing a larger-than-expected contraction in factory activity.

U.S. stock futures fell sharply on Monday, extending last week’s selloff: Dow -1.60%; S&P 500 -2.62%; Nasdaq -4.44%.

Meanwhile, tensions are rising in the Middle East after reports indicated that an Israeli airstrike hit two schools on Sunday, killing at least 30 people.

Bitcoin fell 10% to below 53,000 on Monday, hitting a more than five-month low, as growing fears of a US recession prompted investors to offload risky assets including crypto, stocks, commodities and risk-sensitive currencies .

Coins: (JPY:USD), (CNY:USD), (AUD:USD), (INR:USD), (HKD:USD), (NZD:USD).

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