Monday 5 August 2024

Shares in New York and London Tumble On Fears of US Recession

THE GUARDIAN: FTSE 100 on track for its lowest close since April and Japan’s Nikkei suffers biggest fall since crash of 1987

Shares on Wall Street and in London have fallen heavily amid a global stock market rout triggered by fears of a recession in the US.

The tech-focused Nasdaq index dropped by 6% as trading in New York opened on Monday, while the broader S&P 500 index fell by 4.2% in a sell-off triggered by weak US jobs data. The Dow Jones industrial average lost more than 1,100 points, a 2.8% decline.

Japan’s benchmark stock index, the Nikkei 225, suffered its biggest decline for nearly four decades. It was down by 12%, the biggest single-day fall since the Black Monday crash of 1987. Other stock indices around the world were lower as investors dumped riskier assets. South Korea’s Kospi fell by 9%, Germany’s Dax was down 2%, and share indices in Australia, Hong Kong and China also fell heavily. » | Jasper Jolly and Graeme Wearden | Monday, August 5, 2024

Advice: When the Stock Market Drops, Stay Calm and Do Nothing: There is no reason to think that you can predict what will happen in the markets in the next few hours or in the near future. It’s better not to try. »

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies plunge, mirroring global markets.: The precipitous falls show that digital currencies remain vulnerable to the same broader economic forces that affect technology stocks and risky investments. »