Instead of a Santa Claus rally,... global stocks are witnessing one of their worst Christmas season's on record. <br />The U.S. government shutdown and fears of a global economic slowdown have slammed Wall Street and even Asian markets that were open on Christmas Day. <br />Kim Hyo-sun reports. <br />Stocks around the world are tumbling on fears about the government shutdown in Washington and a global economic slowdown.<br />Asian markets that opened on Christmas Day also suffered with Japan's Nikkei dipping below 20-thousand for the first time in 15 months. <br />It plunged at the open on Tuesday by more than five percent. <br />The fall followed U.S. stocks where all three of the major indexes fell by over two percent on Monday.<br />This is the first time the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq have dropped by over one percent on Christmas Eve in over 120 years. <br />Experts say the government shutdown and President Trump's attacks on the Federal Reserve have eroded investor confidence.<br />Market analysts also forecast a prolonged economic slowdown,... which will affect investor sentiment going forward. <br /><br />"Investors are very fearful that the growth of the U.S. economy and the global economy are going to slow down a lot next year and the year after that there could even be a recession, either in the U.S. or for the entire world economy." <br /><br />While most Asian markets were closed for Christmas Day, the downturn also affected China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index,... which opened lower and tumbled more than two percent in the morning.<br />It's also left to be seen how the bearish market will affect South Korea,... especially as its benchmark KOSPI is only about 50 points above the psychologically-important two-thousand line. <br />Kim Hyo-sun, Arirang News. <br />
