Asian stocks slumped,
with Japanese shares poised for joining China in a bear market, as
concern grew over the strength of the global economy amid the continuing
collapse in oil prices.
The MSCI Asia Pacific
Index lost 1.4 percent to 118.45 as of 9:17 a.m. in Tokyo, extending
this year’s slide to 10 percent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average
declined 2.8 percent, set for a drop of 20 percent from a June peak.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index retreated 1 percent, bringing its
decline from an April high to 19 percent. A bear market is typically
defined as a drop of more than 20 percent.
Brent oil is below $30
a barrel for the first time in 12 years as global growth worries roil
equity, bond and currency markets. Investors awaited 2015 gross domestic
product estimates from China on Tuesday as it struggles to boost a
slowing economy and money managers debate how many times the Federal
Reserve will raise interest rates this year.
Traders have been
whipsawed in 2016, with equities around the world off to their worst
start to a year on record as oil plummeted to levels last seen more than
a decade ago and China struggled to maintain control over its markets.
The Shanghai Composite
Index entered a bear market last week, for the second time in seven
months, erasing gains from state support efforts amid persistent
investor concern over volatility. China’s stock-market watchdog has
acknowledged ineptitude and loopholes within its regulatory system after
a review of the turmoil that has rocked local markets since June.
The MSCI Asia Pacific
Index has been in a bear market since August, as global equities
plummeted after China devalued the yuan. The gauge is trading at the
lowest level since 2012. Singapore has had one of the worst performances
among global markets over the past year, with the Straits Times Index
down more than 25 percent from a peak.
Source: Bloomberg
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