Following the plunge in US stocks, which saw all major indexes close at their lows driven by an abysmal manufacturing ISM print, a 10% plunge in Apple and a tumbling airline sector following ugly guidance by Delta, Asian stocks predictably opened sharply lower, with Japan tumbling in its first trading day of 2019 as fears about a recession in the world's largest economy hit a fever pitch.

The Nikkei 225 tumbled 2.7%, falling deeper into a bear market, as traders returned from an extended new-year break, led by Apple suppliers and a delayed reaction to yesterday's flash crash in the USDJPY which has failed to recoup all losses.

The scramble for safety has sent traders out of equities and into government debt, with the yield on the 10Y JGB tumbling to -4.5%, the lowest since November 2016.

With S&P futures modestly lower, extending their Thursday selloff, Australian stocks also fell and Chinese futures pointed to a weaker start. Meanwhile, the global flight to safety has dragged 10Y Treasury yields even lower, touching a session low near an 11-month low, at 2.5447%.

Meanwhile, with the dollar tumbling, not only did the PBOC set the yuan stronger at 6.8658, vs 6.8631 yesterday while draining 160BN yuan in open market operations, but with fewer safe havens, the soaring demand for safety pushed gold futures surging over $5 higher, rising above $1,300 for the first time since early June.

The silver lining? There still have not been any notable flash crashes.