Stock Markets Continue To Crash... WORLDWIDE

Stock Markets around the world are cratering in pre-market futures trading this morning. It's going to be a bad day in matters financial.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index plunged as much as 7.1% early Monday before recovering some lost ground, extending sell-offs that began last week.

At one point, the Nikkei shed more than 2,500 points. By the time of the Tokyo market’s midday break, the index was down about 5.5%, or about 1,900 points, at 33,945.43.

The market’s broader TOPIX index fell as much as 7.8% before recovering to trade down 6.6%.

Stocks tumbled Friday on worries the U.S. economy could be cracking under the weight of high interest rates meant to tame inflation. Early Monday, the future for the S&P 500 was 1.4% lower and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.5%.

“To put it mildly, the spike in volatility-of-volatility is a spectacle that underlines just how jittery markets have become,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary. “The real question now looms: Can the typical market reflex to sell volatility or buy the market dip prevail over the deep-seated anxiety brought on by this sudden and sharp recession scare?”

A report showing hiring by U.S. employers slowed last month by much more than expected has convulsed financial markets, vanquishing the euphoria that had taken the Nikkei to all-times highs of over 42,000 in recent weeks.

Investors will be watching for data on the U.S. services sector from the U.S. Institute for Supply Management due later Monday that may help determine if the sell-offs around the world are an overreaction, Yeap Jun Rong of IG said in a report.