Charting the Markets: China Rout Ripples Across Stock Markets
China Stock Selloff Tests New Market Circuit Breakers
Global equities dropped after a 7 percent decline in Shanghai forced China to halt stock trading and Saudi Arabia severed ties with Iran, spurring a flight to haven assets. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index sank as much as 2.2 percent, the most since Sept.29. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell as much as 2.8 percent after gaining 7 percent in 2015. Last year the MSCI All Country World Index fell for the first year in four.
China halted stock trading at about 1:34 p.m. local time after the CSI 300 Index sank. The sell-off was prompted by two measures of manufacturing that showed the industry contracted again. Today's plunge is the worst start to a new year for Chinese shares and comes on the first day new circuit breakers took effect. Earlier trading was halted for 15 minutes after the CSI Index - which comprises large capitalization companies listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen - dropped 5 percent.