APAC and Europe Markets Recovering, Will the U.S. Follow Suit?

Asia-Pacific (APAC) and Europe markets showed a slight recovery from massive losses on Monday. Now, eyes are on the US’ uncertain economic trajectory.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index climbed over 10% higher to 34,675.46 points today after it slipped 12.4% yesterday (5 August). Nikkei 225’s daily gain is the largest since October 2008 during the global finance crisis of 2007-09.

Another major index, the Tokyo Stock Price Index (TOPIX), also climbed nearly 10% to 2,434.21 points today. The index fell as much as 12.8% yesterday. Both the indices on Monday saw their worst performance since the 1987 stock market crash. Market leaders in Japan, such as Mitsubishi Corp (9%), Mitsui and Co. (10%), Sumitomo (7%), and Marubeni (9%), all reflected a remarkable uptick.  

South Korea’s benchmark index, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), also jumped 3% and closed at 2,522.15 points today. The index fell 9.3% yesterday. The country’s Kosdaq index rose 6.02% to close at 732.87 points today. The small-cap index sank around 12% yesterday. The negative condition on Monday caused South Korea to temporarily halt its markets, triggering circuit breakers.

The Taiwan Weighted Index (TWII) rose 3% to 20,501.02 points today. Yesterday, it slipped 8.4%. Taiwan's largest company and the world’s biggest chip maker, the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., rose nearly 8% today after falling nearly 10% on Monday.  

Interestingly, China’s CSI 100 index—which didn’t do too badly on Monday and fell barely 1.2%—failed to recover and dipped 0.1% to 3,342.98 points today. Hong Kong SAR’s benchmark index, the Hang Seng index—which fell around 1.5% yesterday—also dipped 0.3% to 16,647.34 points today.

Europe Markets open Higher

In Europe, the stock markets opened higher on 6 August, recovering slightly from yesterday’s dramatic sell-off.

The STOXX Europe 600, a stock index of European stocks, climbed up as much as 0.7% earlier today before slipping 0.03% to 485.80 points at press time. Yesterday, the index dropped as much as 3.5%, hitting its lowest point in over six months.

The Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 (FTSE 100) is the United Kingdom's leading stock market index that tracks the performance of the 100 largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. The FTSE 100 climbed up as much as 1% earlier today but reflected a drop of nearly 1% at 7,978.41 points at press time. The index had its worst day in over a year on Monday.

The CAC 40 index, a benchmark indicator of the French stock market, fell as much as 1% yesterday. The index climbed as much as 1% earlier today, though it showed a fall of nearly 1% at 7,125 points at press time.

The DAX index, a benchmark indicator of the German stock market, dropped as much as 0.98% yesterday. Today, it rose 1% earlier but reflected a drop of nearly 1% at 17,290.29 points at press time.  

Will the U.S. Market Follow Suit?

The global markets turned dramatically volatile due to a legitimate fear of a long recession in the U.S. as a recent report shed light on rising unemployment in the largest economy in the world.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average index slipped 2.6% and closed at 38,703.27 points yesterday.

• The S&P 500 index slipped 3% and closed at 5,186.33 points yesterday.

• The NASDAQ Composite index slipped 3.43% and closed at 16,200.08 points yesterday.

The Federal Reserve called for an emergency meeting yesterday as several markets collapsed worldwide. Many analysts are calling for an immediate 50 basis point rate cut, but emergency rate cuts are rare.

Besides, such a decision could spiral into a global market panic. We are keeping a close watch on every movement in the market. Keep following BitDelta Blogs to get the latest market updates.