Japan's Nikkei 225 index plunges 7% as worries over U.S. economy shake world markets | 4 Aug 2024 | Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index plunged as much as 7.1% early Monday before recovering some lost ground, extending sell-offs that began last week. At one point, the Nikkei shed more than 2,500 points. By the time of the Tokyo market's midday break, the index was down about 5.5%, or about 1,900 points, at 33,945.43. The market’s broader TOPIX index fell as much as 7.8% before recovering to trade down 6.6%. Stocks tumbled Friday on worries the U.S. economy could be cracking under the weight of high interest rates meant to tame inflation. Early Monday, the future for the S&P 500 was 1.4% lower and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.5%.