New York, Wall Street drifted lower in premarket trading today, extending the largest single-day retreat of the year which happened yesterday (Wednesday) after new economic data heightened worries about the possibility of a recession.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 slid 0.8% before the opening bell. In Europe, France’s CAC 40 and Germany’s DAX each fell 1.7%, while Britain’s FTSE 100 tumbled 1.2%.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 1.4% to 26,405.23. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.6% to 7,435.30. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.5% to 2,380.34. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.1% to 21,650.98, while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.5% to 3,240.28, the Associated Press reported.

Source: Oman News Agency