Japan’s Topix index fell below a level not seen since the global financial crisis and plunged toward the lowest close since 1983, after disappointing U.S. jobs data fueled concern the global economy is slowing.

Toyota Motor Corp., Asia’s biggest carmaker by market value, fell 3.7 percent. Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. led shippers lower after a measure of cargo rates dropped. Inpex Corp., Japan’s No. 1 energy explorer, lost 3.4 percent as crude prices fell.

The Topix slid 2.1 percent to 697.20 as of 9:16 a.m. in Tokyo, heading for the lowest close since Dec. 13, 1983. Should the gauge close at the current level, it will have fallen more than 20 percent from this year’s high on March 27, entering a so-called bear market. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average dropped 2.2 percent to 8,256.29.

The employment data “raised a question mark about the view that the U.S. economy is stabilizing,” said Soichiro Monji, chief strategist at Tokyo-based Daiwa SB Investments Ltd., which manages the equivalent of about $64 billion. “Expectations for further monetary easing in the U.S. may push down the dollar-yen exchange rate. These factors could be a double whammy for Japanese equities.”

(Bloomberg)