An electronic stock board is displayed inside the Kabuto One building on Thursday, June 27, 2024 in Tokyo, Japan.
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Asia-Pacific markets opened lower on Friday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 futures expected to plunge nearly 4%, extending losses from Thursday following a sell-off on Wall Street overnight.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index Chicago futures were at 36,685 points and Osaka futures were at 36,710 points, while the previous closing price was 38,126.33 points.
At this level, the difference between Chicago futures and the Nikkei’s last closing price was about 3.75%, indicating that the Nikkei may hit its lowest level since February 7, when it closed at 36,119.92 points.
Other indexes in the region also look set to fall, with Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 futures trading at 7,925 points, compared with its all-time high close of 8,114.7 points.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index Index futures were at 17,047 points, lower than the Hang Seng Index’s last closing point of 17,304.96 points.
Respectively, South Korea July inflation data Slightly higher than expected, the country’s consumer price index climbed 2.6% from the same period last year, while economists polled by Reuters expected 2.5%.
The pessimism in Asian markets follows a sell-off on Wall Street during Thursday’s trading session, with all three major U.S. stock indexes plunging on recession fears.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.21%, the S&P 500 Index fell 1.37%, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index fell 2.3%.
The small-cap benchmark Russell 2000 index, which has been rising recently, fell 3%.
In the United States, new data raised concerns about a possible recession and concerns that the Federal Reserve may be too late to cut interest rates.
Initial jobless claims increased by the largest amount since August 2023.
Following the release of the data, the 10-year Treasury yield fell below 4% for the first time since February.
—CNBC’s Pia Singh and Samantha Subin contributed to this report.
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