Markets around the world are rattled by fears of slowing US growth

Seoul, South Korea: A sell-off in markets around the world quickened pace Monday as investors grew uneasy about signs of a slowing US economy, with stocks tumbling across Asia.

The declines were especially pronounced in Japan, where the Topix index, which includes companies that represent a broad swath of the country’s economy, fell more than 10 per cent. The decline at one point triggered a “circuit breaker” mechanism that halts trading to let markets digest large fluctuations. The Nikkei 225 index, considered the benchmark in Japan, fell as much as 9 per cent.

South Korea’s benchmark Kospi index fell more than 5 per cent. Equity markets in Taiwan, Singapore, Australia and Hong Kong were all lower.

The declines were expected to continue Monday in Europe and the United States.

In the market for stock futures, the S&P 500 was down 1.5 per cent and the Nasdaq was more than 2 per cent lower. Stock futures for key indexes in Europe, including Germany’s, pointed to declines of about 1 per cent.

Bitcoin, a main cryptocurrency, fell more than 10 per cent in another apparent sign of investor anxiety.

The drops followed a US jobs report Friday that indicated that employers had slowed hiring significantly in July, with unemployment rising to its highest level in nearly three years. This deepened fears that the economy was cooling and that the Federal Reserve may have waited too long on cutting interest rates.

Nomura, the Japanese investment bank, said in a research note Monday that the “slowing US data causes a growth scare for markets,” and that it has “reignited fears of a faster-than-expected US slowdown.”

Based on the weakness in the jobs report, Goldman Sachs said in a note that it now expects the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates at its next three meetings — a more aggressive timetable for cuts than the investment bank had previously expected.

In Japan, the soft US data only added to the uneasiness of investors.

The Topix is down more than 18 per cent from last Wednesday, when the Bank of Japan raised interest rates for only the second time in nearly two decades. A circuit breaker was also triggered for trading in long-term Japanese government bonds and the Nikkei 225.

Japanese stocks have been on a tear for more than a year, fueled by a weak Japanese yen. The yen’s depreciation had helped to inflate the earnings of Japanese exporters, but the currency has strengthened considerably over the past week.

Adding to the pressure, foreign investors have started selling off positions in Japanese stocks over the last few weeks. In the most recent data from the Tokyo Stock Exchange, foreign investors sold nearly $4 billion more in Japanese equities than they purchased during the week ending July 26. In the week prior, they were net sellers of $1.5 billion of equities.