Image copyrightAFP
Asian markets extended their losses on Tuesday, after a 7% plunge in mainland Chinese shares on Monday triggered an equities sell-off around the world.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index was down 0.4% to 18,371.29, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.1% to 5,213.60, and South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.3% to 1,912.43.
Trading on the Shanghai Composite was suspended early in the previous session after it fell 7%, triggering a new circuit breaker mechanism.
The move spooked global markets.
Overnight, US benchmark indexes lost up to 2% as concerns grew that the dive in the Chinese stocks was the start of another volatile period after last summer’s dramatic market rout.
The addition of escalating tensions in the Middle East on oil prices also dented investors’ confidence.
Oil prices were flat after rising as much as 4% on the brewing dispute between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
In South Korea, a senior finance ministry official said that the government would take action to stabilise the market if needed, following Monday’s steep plunge.
Analysts said investors were waiting to see if Beijing could stem the latest selling in Chinese stocks and whether more measures would be introduced.
The circuit breaker rule that suspended trading nationwide for the first time on Monday was created after sharp falls last summer and was meant to curb market volatility in China.
No comments:
Post a Comment