Asian markets plunge on rising Middle East tensions, economic worries

Asian markets experienced a significant downturn on Monday, driven by escalating tensions in the Middle East, Japan’s unexpected interest rate hike, and disappointing United States employment data.

Japan’s central bank increased the interest rates to 0.25% from 0.1% last week. Meanwhile, the latest US jobs report showed that nonfarm payrolls increased by just 120,000 in July, significantly below market expectations of 200,000.

The Nikkei 225 led the decline, plummeting by 12.4%. Other major indices also suffered substantial losses — the KOSPI 200 fell by 9.12%, the Taiwan TAIEX Index dropped 8.35%, and India’s BSE-100 was down by 2.77%.

The Shanghai SE A Share Index and Hang Seng Index saw more moderate declines of 1.54% and 1.46%, respectively. Meanwhile, the Tadawul All Share Index in Saudi Arabia slipped by 1.76%.

Stock markets in Asia slumped following big falls by major indices around the world last week. Moreover, the cryptocurrency market plunged on Sunday, shedding around $270 billion in value over a 24-hour period.

The global equity markets plummeted as the sell-off was fueled by growing concerns that the US economy is slowing and the Federal Reserve is behind the curve with policy support. Data showed the US jobs market was weakening, which triggered a closely watched recession indicator.