In Japan, the trading week began strongly downward. The Nikkei 225 index plummeted over 12 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index also fell, just like the stock market in South Korea.
It is likely that a combination of factors is shaking the world's stock markets, according to SEB's private economist Américo Fernández.
Everything from some quarterly reports from large companies coming in a bit worse than expected to economic cycles that have not quite recovered at the pace one wants. Another factor is the geopolitical turbulence in parts of the Middle East, which is causing risk appetite to decrease globally and affecting the stock market as well.
American Question Marks
The global stock market anxiety began already at the end of last week after unexpectedly weak American job figures and some question marks around the country's economy.
The Stockholm stock exchange fell over 3 percent on Friday. The stock exchanges in London, Paris, and Frankfurt also closed the trading week in the red.
Monday does not look much better right now. Both the Stockholm stock exchange and leading European stock exchanges are falling.
Crypto Plummets
The cryptocurrencies are also following the downturn. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, is plummeting and is now hovering around 50,000 dollars – a decline of around 15 percent. The second-largest cryptocurrency Ether is falling by nearly 19 percent.
The Swedish krona is strengthening slightly against the dollar and costs 10.50 kronor. One euro costs 11.54 kronor.
