Instead of a Santa Claus rally,... global stocks are witnessing one of their worst Christmas season's on record.
The U.S. government shutdown and fears of a global economic slowdown have slammed Wall Street and even Asian markets that were open on Christmas Day.
Kim Hyo-sun reports.
Stocks around the world are tumbling on fears about the government shutdown in Washington and a global economic slowdown.
Asian markets that opened on Christmas Day also suffered with Japan's Nikkei dipping below 20-thousand for the first time in 15 months.
It plunged at the open on Tuesday by more than five percent.
The fall followed U.S. stocks where all three of the major indexes fell by over two percent on Monday.
This is the first time the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq have dropped by over one percent on Christmas Eve in over 120 years.
Experts say the government shutdown and President Trump's attacks on the Federal Reserve have eroded investor confidence.
Market analysts also forecast a prolonged economic slowdown,... which will affect investor sentiment going forward.
"Investors are very fearful that the growth of the U.S. economy and the global economy are going to slow down a lot next year and the year after that there could even be a recession, either in the U.S. or for the entire world economy."
While most Asian markets were closed for Christmas Day, the downturn also affected China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index,... which opened lower and tumbled more than two percent in the morning.
It's also left to be seen how the bearish market will affect South Korea,... especially as its benchmark KOSPI is only about 50 points above the psychologically-important two-thousand line.
Kim Hyo-sun, Arirang News.
