Japanese stocks soared more than 10% early Tuesday, a day after plunging and setting markets tumbling in Europe and on Wall Street.
Other markets in Asia appeared to have settled somewhat after the rollercoaster ride that started the week.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo gained nearly 11% early Tuesday but then fell back, trading 8.7% higher at 34,211.83, as investors bought into bargains after the 12.4% rout the day before. South Korea’s Kospi index was up 3%, while Australia’s ASX200 added 0.3% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was steady in morning trading.
Markets on Monday started with a plunge reminiscent of 1987’s crash, that swept around the world and pummelled Wall Street with more steep losses, as fears worsened about a slowing US economy.
Wall Street suffered its worst day in almost two years, while European markets also fell, with Britain’s FTSE 100 suffering its steepest one-day decline in more than a year.
The drops on Monday were the first chance for traders in Tokyo to react to the global sell-off which began on Friday, after a US report showed employers slowed their hiring last month by much more than economists expected.
That was the latest piece of data on the US economy to come in weaker than expected, and it’s all raised fears the Federal Reserve has pressed the brakes on the economy by too much for too long through high interest rates in hopes of stifling inflation.
Professional investors also pointed to the Bank of Japan’s move last week to raise its main interest rate from nearly zero. Such a move helps boost the value of the Japanese yen, but it could also force traders to scramble out of deals where they borrowed money for virtually no cost in Japan and invested it elsewhere around the world.
Chris Weston, head of research at broker Pepperstone, said after “the breathtaking and historic moves seen across Asian markets” on Monday “we look for a solid counter rally on open today.”
Federal Reserve officials did their best to reassure markets with Fed San Francisco president Mary Daly saying it was “extremely important” to prevent the labor market tipping into a downturn.
Daly added that her mind was open to cutting interest rates as necessary and policy needed to be proactive.
The comments underpinned market expectations that the Fed would cut by 50 basis points at its September meeting, with futures implying an 87% chance of such an outsized move.
Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report