Monday’s Market Update I 05-August-2024

A selloff that has shaken equity markets worldwide is casting a shadow over investors hoping to buy stocks at lower prices, as concerns over the U.S. economy and disappointing tech earnings suggest the possibility of further losses.

This follows the news that Jeff Bezos, one of the world’s richest men, saw his net worth shrink by $15.2 billion on Friday, triggering a widespread decline that wiped out $134 billion from the combined fortunes of the top 500 wealthiest people globally.

Meanwhile, in the Asian markets, Japanese stocks confirmed a bear market on Monday as the region continued last week’s sell-off, with the Nikkei 225 and TOPIX plunging more than 12%. The yen also reached mid-January highs against the dollar at the Asia open, amid recession fears and expectations of deeper rate cuts by the Fed, spurred by weak U.S. labor data.

In addition, on Monday, oil prices fell as fears of a recession in the United States, the world’s largest oil consumer, overshadowed concerns about potential supply disruptions due to escalating tensions in the Middle East.