Fear of US recession rattles global markets as tech shares fall

Stock markets in Europe, Asia and New York tumbled on Friday as fears of a US economic slump grew and technology shares were hit by underwhelming earnings.

Concerns that the US could be sliding towards a recession spurred a global sell-off, which accelerated after a poor employment report on Friday showed that the US jobs market was cooling fast, pushing up the unemployment rate.

Economists fear the US economy could be weaker than central bankers at the Federal Reserve had realised, and could force the Fed into a sharp cut in borrowing costs in September – or even an emergency rate cut before that – to stimulate demand.

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