A stock exchange in Germany.
Torsten Silz | AFP | Getty Images
LONDON — European stocks fell sharply at the start of Monday’s session, as global volatility continues amid concerns of a looming U.S. recession.
The regional Stoxx 600 index was 2.57% lower by 10:42 a.m. London time, with all sectors and major regional bourses trading in the red. Tech stocks shed as much as 5% before paring losses slightly to trade down 3.66%. Oil and gas stocks also lost 3.6%, while autos were 3.3% lower.
The lower start for major European markets comes amid wider global volatility.
The VIX, a measure of expected market volatility, jumped to 41.65, its highest level since October 2020, as recessionary concerns mounted. The so-called fear gauge was last seen up 72% at 10:07 a.m. in London versus the 23.5 seen at the end of last week, according to LSEG data.
U.S. stock futures fell Sunday night following a turbulent last week for Wall Street, in which the Nasdaq Composite dropped into correction territory.
Asia-Pacific markets also continued the selloff overnight. Japan stocks entered a bear market, with the Nikkei 225 losing 12.4% to log its worst day since 1987. The broad-based Topix also saw a rout, tumbling 12.23%, while heavyweight trading houses such as Mitsubishi, Mitsui and Co, Sumitomo and Marubeni all plunged over 14%.
The yen, meanwhile, rose to its highest level against the dollar since January and was last seen trading at 143.55.
Earnings in Europe come from Uniper, Infineon, Monte dei Paschi and Palantir Technologies on Monday. Data releases include services purchasing managers’ index data from the U.K, Italy and Spain.
