The Tokyo market slumped to a 28-year low on Monday as Asian shares dived on fears of a nightmare scenario of euro-zone breakup, U.S. economic relapse and a sharp slowdown in China.

Investors hedged against global financial and economic crisis, heading for havens such as the benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond whose yield fell below 0.80 percent to its lowest since July 2003. Ten-year JGB futures prices jumped to a 19-month high.

Japan’s shares fell sharply, with the broader Topix index hitting a 28-year low, as investors rushed to sell riskier assets on disappointing U.S. jobs data, deepening debt woes for the euro zone and slowing Chinese growth.

The more tech-heavy Nikkei index also slid and has now dropped 19 percent from a one-year high marked on March 27, flirting with a fall into bear market territory, often defined as a slide of 20 percent within two months.

The broader Topix index lost as much as 2.4 percent to 692.18, a level not seen since late 1983. Last week, it fell for a ninth straight week, marking its longest such run since 1975.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/47668274

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