China fears wipe €230bn off leading European shares

European stocks fell sharply at the open on Monday, wiping hundreds of billions of euro off the region's top share index, which hit a seven-month low after a rout in China unnerved global markets. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 was down 2.8 per cent at 1,382.46 points by 07.55 GMT, wiping around €230 billion off the index.

The STOXX Europe 600 Financial Services index, down 3.6 per cent, deepening its plunge after its worst week in four years, with all but two of its shares falling.

Fears of a slowdown in the Chinese economy sent Asia-Pacific stocks plummeting to three-year-lows on Monday, days after Wall Street suffered its biggest one-day loss in almost four years.

China's main Shanghai composite index lost up to 8.6 per cent as investors, shaken by last week's sell-off in America, unloaded shares across the board.

Taipei shares plunged 7.49 per cent in that market’s worst ever drop inside a single day. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan sank over 4.6 per cent to a three-year low.

In Australia the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 and the All Ordinaries indices fell more than 2.4 per cent in the first 20 minutes of trade on Monday. Banks and mining companies were among the worst hit.

Markets have been reeling since China’s shock currency devaluation almost two weeks ago.

“Markets are panicking. Things are starting to look like the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s. Speculators are selling assets that seem the most vulnerable,” said Takako Masai, the head of research at Shinsei Bank in Tokyo.

Chinese shares fell 11 per cent last week after manufacturing activity fell to its lowest level since 2009.

The trading day was barely under way when the Nikkei benchmark index briefly fell more than 500 points from Friday.

Reuters / agencies