Global markets began the second half of the year nervously after signs that the economic recovery, which many were predicting to be around the corner, may yet be some way off.

The change in sentiment followed Thursday’s non-farm payrolls report on the US labour market. The data showed that 467,000 American jobs were lost in June, significantly more than the 350,000 loss expected. After several months when the rate of losses has slowed, the data came as big disappointment.