Stocks fell in early trading Monday in Asia as investors shaken by the sell-off last week on Wall Street unloaded shares in many sectors.
The Shanghai composite index tumbled 8 per cent to 3,228.57 in early trading; Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 4.2 per cent to 21,475.15 and Japan's Nikkei 225 stock index dropped 2.7 per cent to 18,918.42. Australia slid 2.5 per cent to 5,084.30, while South Korea's Kospi lost 0.5 per cent.
Friday's wave of selling culminated with the S&P 500 losing nearly 6 per cent for the week in its worst weekly slump since 2011.
That followed fresh signs of a slowdown in the Chinese economy, with a gauge of manufacturing, a purchasing managers' index, or PMI, showing that key sectors are continuing to contract. Weaker demand is spilling over into other markets, especially resource-dependent emerging economies that export to China.
"Investors are taking a safety first approach to the stock market given the potential for instability related to capital flight from emerging economies," Ric Spooner, a market strategist for CMC Markets, said in a commentary.
Some analysts say they see huge opportunities for bargains in the latest plunge in prices, but overall sentiment remains gloomy.
"While some blame the correction on the ongoing Chinese slowdown given the poor Chinese flash PMI read, we think it also reflects contagion and position adjustment given the significant declines seen in emerging markets," Mizuho Bank said in a daily market commentary.
A slide in the value of the U.S. dollar against the Japanese yen also was hurting in Tokyo, where exporters have benefited in the past two years by a weaker yen.
Sony Corp.'s shares fell 4.9 per cent by late morning on Monday, while Toyota Motor Corp.'s shares dropped 4.4 per cent.
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