President Cyril Ramaphosa gestures to supporters during his address at the African National Congress manifesto launch at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on February 24, 2024.HONG KONG - Tokyo led a collapse across Asian and European equities Monday, after weak US jobs data fanned fears of a recession in the world's top economy and boosted bets on several Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.
The news came a day after lacklustre factory data that stoked concerns that Fed officials may have held borrowing costs at more than two-decade highs too long.The losses in New York were followed in Asia, with Tokyo's Nikkei tanking more than 12 percent in its worst day since the Fukushima crisis in 2011. It also suffered its biggest ever points loss, shedding 4,451.28.
Hong Kong and Shanghai dropped, with traders brushing off a set of directives released by China aimed at boosting household consumption in the world's number two economy.London and Paris were down more than 2 percent at the open while Frankfurt was down more than 3 percent. Markets are"still reeling from last Friday's seismic shifts in the global financial landscape", said Stephen Innes in his Dark Side Of The Boom newsletter.
Japan's top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said it"will continue to stay on its toes and monitor market developments with keen interest". The US central bank had signalled after its latest meeting Wednesday that slowing inflation and a softening labour market meant it could cut next month, with traders predicting two or three 25-basis-point reductions before January.Taylor Nugent at National Australia Bank said:"The Fed doesn't meet again until September 18. There is one more payrolls report and two before then.