Wall Street tumbles as global stock market sell-off takes hold

ITV News Business and Economics Editor Joel Hills has the latest on what it could mean for our finances

Markets around the world have seen stocks plunge downwards, including FTSE 100 and Japan's Nikkei 225 index, which suffered its worst day since 1987.

London’s blue-chip index - which tracks the shares of well-known and financially stable publicly traded companies - was 2.4% down after the open on Monday falling 193 points to 7,982, in its sharpest fall since July last year.

Stocks on Wall Street also plunged on Monday, prompting concerns about a recession in the United States.

The S&P 500 was down by 4% in early trading, while Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1,197 points, or 3% on Monday morning.

Nasdaq composite slid 5.5% to pull it 15% below its record set last month.

Markets in Asia, suffered similar downward turns, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 plunged 12.4% for its worst day since the Black Monday crash of 1987.

The Japanese benchmark index fell 4,451 points to 31,458 on Monday.

The global stock market sell-off was sparked by a jobs report released on Friday, showing US employers slowed hiring last month by much more than economists expected.

It comes as the latest in a series of data releases on the US economy, which have all come in weaker than expected, which has left investors spooked at the prospect of a potential American recession.

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This has prompted fears the country's Federal Reserve has put the brakes on the US economy by too much for too long through high interest rates in hopes of stifling inflation.

Losses elsewhere in the world were significant, with South Korea’s Kospi index went 8.8% lower, and bitcoin dropped 12%.

Even gold, which has a reputation for offering safety during tumultuous times, slipped nearly 2%.

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