ASX dives with no sector spared as recession fears trigger panic

Sarah Jones, Joanne Tran and Jessica Sier

Aug 5, 2024 – 12.25pm

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Sydney-Tokyo| Global growth forecasts have been shredded by fears of a recession in the world’s largest economy, unleashing panic in equity markets that escalated on Monday into the worst sell-off in four years, heaping pressure on central banks to arrest the carnage.

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index dived 293.6 points, or 3.7 per cent, to 7649.6 on Monday with no sector spared, extending a global equities rout that swept through Asia, sending Japan’s Nikkei 225 tumbling 12.4 per cent. S&P 500 futures were down more 2.7 per cent suggesting the selling is set to continue on Wall Street.

Sarah Jones is the Financial Review’s markets editor based in the Sydney newsroom. She has covered financial markets, economics and asset management for more than two decades including 12 years for Bloomberg in London.

Joanne Tran is a markets reporter for The Australian Financial Review in the Sydney newsroom.

Jessica Sier is the North Asia Correspondent for The Australian Financial Review. She is based in Tokyo, Japan. Jessica has previously written on technology, global capital markets and economics.