ISTANBUL

The Nikkei Stock exchange on Monday posted historic losses as it plunged over 4600 points, or more than 12%. 

The plunge in the trading came amid fears of a recession in the US, Tokyo-based Kyodo News reported.

"A stock circuit breaker was triggered for the Nikkei and Topix futures markets following the steep falls, temporarily halting trading," it added.

Japanese yen surged to 142 as the US dollar fell to a fresh seven-month low.

Bank of Japan is expected to make another interest rate hike this year.