Asian markets fell for the fifth week in a row on Friday, as investors anticipated a U.S. rate hike next week, amid mounting fears of a global recession following warnings from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
Despite a Reuters poll showing that industrial output in August was predicted to come in at 3.8%, the Shanghai Composite in mainland China was down 0.60% as of 9.36 a.m. Thai time. A similar rate of expansion to July.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.06%, and the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia declined 1.19%. South Korea’s Kospi shed 0.61%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.61%.
The weaker session in Asian markets followed broad declines in the main U.S. equity indexes.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 173.27 points, or 0.56%, to finish at 30,961.82, the S&P 500 slid 44.66 points, or 1.13%, to finish at 3,901.35, and the Nasdaq Composite plummeted 167.32 points, or 1.43%, to close at 11,552.36.
The IMF warned on Thursday that while the global economic outlook remains gloomy and some countries are likely to fall into recession in 2023, it is too early to predict if there would be a widespread global recession.
Global growth is expected to slow to 3.2% in 2022 and 2.9% in 2023, according to the IMF’s July forecast.
In comparison, the World Bank has warned that a worldwide economic downturn is possible by 2023 if central banks around the world raise interest rates at the same time to tackle chronic inflation.
There has been a significant slowdown in the world’s three major economies in recent months: the United States, China, and the euro zone. a “moderate hit to the global economy over the next year could tip it into recession,” the report said.
