Straits Times Index dives over 4% as regional markets join global stock rout

FROM Tokyo to Taiwan, stock indexes in Asia-Pacific were swimming in a sea of red on Monday (Aug 5) after dismal unemployment data in the US last Friday triggered recession worries and a global sell-off.

It was a volatile trading day for many key benchmarks, with a few recovering only to concede more ground after the noon break.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 led the losses, plunging 12.4 per cent, although it had at one point narrowed the drop from 7 per cent to 4.6 per cent. However, the decline resumed in afternoon trading.