US stocks fell sharply on Monday morning, driven lower by fears of an American recession. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down more than 1,200 points at one point in trading.
The New York Stock Exchange was jolted by a sell-off in semiconductor and IT-related issues from the start of trading, following last Friday’s sharp decline.
It was the first time in nearly two years, since September 2022, that the Dow has recorded an intraday plunge of more than 1,000 points.
The tech-laden Nasdaq composite tumbled by more than 6 percent during trading.
Global markets are also suffering heavy losses as fears rise about slowing economic growth in the US. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average ended Monday down more than 4,400 points.
Market observers say the global market sell-off rattled investors, leading them to rotate from stocks to safe assets like government bonds.