Shanti Kelemen, chief investment officer at M&G Wealth, told the BBC’s Today programme it was hard to say whether the US would tip into recession or not.

“You can pick out evidence to create a positive story, you can also pick out the evidence to create a negative story,” she said.

“I don’t think it universally points to one direction yet.”

The rout in US markets has spread globally amid fears of contagion.

As the Nikkei plunged in Japan, stock markets in Taiwan, South Korea, India, Australia, Hong Kong and Shanghai all tumbled by between 1.4% and 8% on Monday.

Japan’s problems stem in part from its currency, the yen, which has been strengthening against the US dollar since the Bank of Japan raised interest rates last week.

It has made stocks in Tokyo – and Japanese goods in general – more expensive for foreign investors and buyers.

At the same time inflation in Japan rose by more than expected in June while the economy shrank in the first three months of the year.