Japan’s Nikkei tumbled 2.9%, as the Japanese yen weakened to the lowest level in more than 20 years. The Japanese currency has declined rapidly in recent months because of a strong greenback and ultra-loose Japanese monetary policy.
The Japanese central bank and government warned in a rare joint statement on Friday that they are concerned about the sharp falls, suggesting a potential intervention by Tokyo to stem the decline.
And, it is not the only Asian currency seeing a steep fall. The Indian rupee fell to an all-time low of 78.2 against the US dollar in early trade, while the BSE Sensex was down 2.6%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng also slid 3% on Monday. Korea’s Kospi fell 2.8%. China’s Shanghai Composite was down 0.5%.
In the US, Dow futures were down 1.1% Sunday evening. S&P 500 futures were down around 1.4%, while Nasdaq futures were down about 2.1%.
The May consumer price index rose 8.6% year-over-year, its highest level since 1981. Economists had forecast an 8.3% increase. The core index, which excludes food and energy prices, rose by 6%, slightly higher than estimates of 5.9%.
– CNN’s Nicole Goodkind contributed to this report
