BANGKOK (AP) -- Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index plunged 6.7% early Monday, extending sell-offs that began last week.
The Nikkei had shed more than 2,400 points to 33,488.08 about a half-hour after opening. The index was down about 6.1% about an hour after trading began.
Stocks tumbled Friday on worries the U.S. economy could be cracking under the weight of high interest rates meant to whip inflation. World shares have tracked that decline.
A report showing hiring by U.S. employers slowed last month by much more than expected has convulsed financial markets, vanquishing the euphoria that had taken the Nikkei to all-times highs earlier this year.
The S&P 500 sank 1.8% on Friday for its first back-to-back losses of at least 1% since April. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 610 points, or 1.5%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 2.4% as stocks retreated around the world and back to Wall Street.
