CREDIT: REUTERS/ISSEI KATO
(Reuters) – Data showing Japan slipped into recession in the third quarter raised concerns on Monday about global economic health, hitting stocks and the price of oil.
European shares fell and Wall Street looked set to open lower, according to index futures ESc1 1YNc1.
Tokyo’s Nikkei index .N225 lost 3 percent, its biggest one-day drop since August, after the news that the world’s third-largesteconomy unexpectedly shrank by an annualized 1.6 percent in July-September.
This followed a 7.3 percent contraction in the previous quarter caused by a rise in national sales tax. It ran counter to economists forecasts for a 2.1 percent rebound.
The data initially pushed the yen to a seven-year low against the dollar, but as Tokyo stocks fell the Japanese currency rebounded.
The news also shaved $1 off the price of Brent crude oil, for which demand would fall if economies slide, and sent ripples across Europe, where the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 pan-European share index was down 0.4 percent.
Data on Friday showed euro zone economic output expanded more than expected in the third quarter but remained weak.
Leaders from the G20 group of countries agreed a package of measures on Sunday they said would add an extra 2.1 percentage points to growth over five years.
But financial markets focused on Japan’s economic downturn, which set the stage for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to delay an increase in the sales tax and call a snap election
“It’s a bit of shock for the market, because people believed that the Bank of Japan had everything under control. But overall, the initial negative reaction shouldn’t last too long. Investors still expect central bank action worldwide to support the global economy,” FXCM analyst Nicolas Cheron said.
Other Asian shares also fell. MSCI’s main index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS lost 0.7 percent.
Chinese equities dropped as profit taking outweighed buying by foreign investors as a landmark Hong Kong-Shanghai trading link debuted on Monday.
The Shanghai Composite .SSEC ended down 0.2 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng .HSIlost 1 percent.
The yen was the big mover on foreign exchange markets. After the GDP data, it fell to as low as 117.06 to the dollar but then rebounded and was last at 116.25, a shade higher on the day.
“People (in London) are doing a bit of position squaring after getting caught out by the scale of this surprise,” said Daragh Maher, a strategist with HSBC in London.
The dollar index .DXY dipped 0.1 percent as a result and the euro EUR= made a similar gain versus the greenback.
As the Japanese data stoked concerns about the global economy, undermining stronger-than-expected U.S. retail sales data on Friday, German 10-year Bund yields DE10YT=TWEB edged down to 0.79 percent, just above a record low of 0.716 percent.
Brent crude LCOc1 last traded at $78.86 a barrel, down 0.7 percent after the Japanese data was seen hitting global demand.
“This is a market where traders are looking for selling opportunities,” said Ole Hansen, senior commodity strategist at Saxo Bank.
Eyes remain on possible OPEC production cuts when the oil cartel meets next week.
Gold held near two-week highs on a softer dollar. Spot gold XAU= was last at $1,191.20
