Japan’s Nikkei falls 12.4% on US recession fears – Business and economy

TOKYO, Aug. 5. /TASS/. Japan’s Nikkei index, which tracks the stock prices of 225 leading Japanese companies, fell 12.4 percent by the end of the trading session. Local observers said that was amid investor concerns about a possible U.S. recession and the strengthening of the yen against the dollar.

So, at the end of the trading session, the Nikkei index lost 4,451.28 points and fell to 31,458.42 points. This is the lowest level in history, surpassing the “Black Monday” of 1987, when the Nikkei lost 3,836.33 points during trading.

Local observers attributed the Tokyo stock market decline to fears of a possible recession in the United States, where August 2 employment data fell short of market expectations. The decline continued after Friday’s decline, when the Nikkei fell 5.8% on weak US manufacturing data for July.

According to Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, the Japanese government does not comment on the stock market because stock prices are set by the market, but it is closely monitoring the situation.

Another factor in the decline is the strengthening of the domestic currency, which is unfavorable for large exporters. On Monday, the exchange rate reached about 142.6 yen to the dollar.