Global Stock Markets Tumble

Available for over a year

European markets have followed Asian bourses down in price as investors continued to dump shares. London, Frankfurt and Paris all fell sharply with losses of up to 3%. In the US overnight the Dow lost 4.6% and Japan's Nikkei 225 closed down 4.7%. The sell-off began last week after data in the US showed stronger wage growth, which raised expectations that US interest rates might start to rise more quickly to tackle inflation. The falls can be put in some perspective. In 2017 the Dow was up 25%, helped by a resurgent economy and strong corporate profits. Which begs the question, is this the start of a bigger decline, or just a blip? World Service economics correspondent Andrew Walker, Maike Currie of Fidelity International, David Kuo of the Motley Fool financial website and Axitrader's James Hughes lend their analysis. (Photo: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Credit: Getty Images)