World Markets Plunge as Massive Sell-Off Accelerates; US Poised for Sharp Drop

By Charles Riley and Mark Thompson. World stocks and oil prices plunged Monday as a global sell off accelerated on worries about the health of China’s huge economy.

Asian markets suffered major losses, and the major indexes in Europe fell by about 3% in early trading . . .

The benchmark Shanghai Composite declined 8.5%, wiping out all gains made this year. Many companies listed in Shanghai, including some large state-owned firms, fell by the maximum daily limit of 10%.

China’s smaller Shenzhen Composite lost 7.7%.

In Japan, the Nikkei closed down 4.6%, and Australia’s ASX All Ordinaries shed 4.0%. Seoul’s KOSPI Composite lost 2.5%. Asian currencies were trading lower against the U.S. dollar. (Read more from “World Markets Plunge as Sell of Continues” HERE)

____________________________________________

Asian Stocks Plummet, Chinese Rout Gathers Pace

By Thomson/Reuters. Asian stocks dived to 3-year lows on Monday as a rout in Chinese equities gathered pace, hastening an exodus from riskier assets as fears of a China-led global economic slowdown roiled world markets. . .

Copper, seen as a barometer of global demand, tumbled to 6-1/2-year lows as the anxiety over China sapped investor confidence.

Bourses from Japan to Malaysia were hit hard as Chinese stocks plummeted immediately after the open on Monday, with investors failing to take heart from the formalisation of rules over the weekend allowing pension funds to invest in the stock market.

Shanghai shares dived 7.7 percent to a five-month low, having lost more than 10 percent so far this month.

“The market is in a downtrend. There’s no good news, stocks are still expensive, and there’s no fresh money coming in,” said Qi Yifeng, analyst at consultancy CEBM. (Read more about the world markets plunge HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.