Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 13.47%, Shanghai Composite down 1.40%, Hang Seng down 2.59% ASX down 3.78%
- Commodities : Gold at $2466.35 (0.17%), Silver at $28.28 (0.54%), Brent Oil at $75.93 (-1.17%), WTI Oil at $72.69 (-1.12%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 3.675, UK 10-year yield at 3.834, Germany 10-year yield at 2.088
News & Data:
- (USD) Average Hourly Earnings m/m 0.2% vs 0.3% expected
- (USD) Non-Farm Employment Change 114K vs 176K expected
- (USD) Unemployment Rate 4.3% vs 4.1% expected
Markets Update:
On Monday, Japan’s stock market officially entered a bear market as Asia-Pacific markets extended last week’s sell-off. The Nikkei 225 and Topix indexes dropped over 12%, marking a decline of more than 20% from their all-time highs on July 11. Major trading houses like Mitsubishi, Mitsui & Co, Sumitomo, and Marubeni saw approximately 10% losses. This decline follows Friday’s significant downturn when the Nikkei 225 and Topix fell over 5% and 6%, respectively. It was the worst day for the broader Topix in eight years, while the Nikkei experienced its steepest drop since March 2020.
In Monday’s trading, the yen surged to its highest level against the dollar since January, trading at 143.10. South Korea’s Kospi fell 8.1%, triggering a 20-minute trading halt due to the exchange’s circuit breakers, and the Kosdaq dropped 11.71%. Investors are also eyeing key trade data from China and Taiwan and central bank decisions from Australia and India this week. China’s service sector showed accelerated growth in July, with the purchasing managers’ index rising to 52.1 from 51.2 in June. The Caixin survey attributed this to faster new business growth and improved demand conditions.
Taiwan’s Taiwan Weighted Index fell over 8%, driven down by tech and real estate stocks, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 3.5%. The Reserve Bank of Australia began its two-day monetary policy meeting, with economists expecting it to maintain the interest rate at 4.35%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 2.61%, and mainland China’s CSI 300 fell 0.48%, marking the smallest loss in Asia.
In the U.S., stocks plummeted on Friday after a weaker-than-expected July jobs report, raising recession concerns. The Nasdaq entered correction territory, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones were down 5.7% and 3.9% from their record highs, respectively. The S&P 500 dropped 1.84%, the Nasdaq Composite lost 2.43%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 610.71 points, or 1.51%.
Upcoming Events:
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