Asia stocks slump after shares fell sharply last week

Stock markets in Asia slumped on Monday morning, following big falls by major indexes around the world last week.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was trading around 6.4% lower, while the Topix was down more than 7%.

It comes after weak jobs data in the US on Friday sparked fears of a recession in the world’s largest economy.

Meanwhile, the yen has been strengthening against the US dollar since the Bank of Japan raised interest rates last week, making stocks in Tokyo more expensive for foreign investors.

Elsewhere in Asia, Taiwan’s main share index was down by around 7%, with chip making giant TSMC more than 6% lower. In South Korea, the Kospi index fell by over 4% lower.

On Friday, stocks in New York fell sharply after official jobs data showed that US employers added 114,000 jobs in July, far fewer than expected.

The figures raised concerns that a long-running jobs boom in the US might be coming to an end and drove speculation about when and by how much the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates.