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Stock markets in Asia slumped on Monday morning, following big falls by major indexes around the world last week.<\/p>\n
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was trading 4.6% lower, while the Topix was down by 5.7%.<\/p>\n
It comes after weak jobs data in the US on Friday sparked fears of a recession in the world’s largest economy.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
“The selloff was instigated by the sharp appreciation of the [yen] as global investors turned cautious on Japanese corporate earnings, especially that of exporters such as automakers,” said Kei Okamura, a Tokyo-based portfolio manager at investment firm Neuberger Berman.<\/p>\n
The Japanese currency has strengthened around 9% against the US dollar over the last month.<\/p>\n
A stronger yen makes Japanese goods more expensive, and consequently less attractive for potential overseas buyers.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere in Asia, Taiwan\u2019s main share index was down by 6.9%, with chip making giant TSMC more than 6% lower. <\/p>\n
In South Korea, the Kospi index fell 5.5%, with major chip makers including Samsung down more than 7%, while SK Hynix 6.5% lower. <\/p>\n
However, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong was down by just 0.6% in morning trade, while the Shanghai Stock Exchange was 0.2% lower.<\/p>\n
Cryptocurrencies were also down. Bitcoin dropped to just over $53,000, its lowest level since February.<\/p>\n