FTSE 100, 250 fall more than 3 percent each

Most Asia-Pacific equities markets lower again on Thursday. The Shanghai Composite was again an exception as it added 0.52 percent to 4,346.46. The Sensex was also higher, up 0.49 percent to 15,776.31 in India. South Korea’s Kospi index, however, dropped 2.03 percent to 1,963.54 on profit-taking. Other decliners included the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong, which was 0.64 percent lower to 23,211.69. In Australia, the Sydney Ordinaries dropped 1.2 percent to 6,301.4 and the S&P/ASX200 was 1.29 percent lower to 6,258.5. The Taiex index fell 1.78 percent to 9,566.42 in Taiwan, while the Straits Times Index in Singapore was down 1.8 percent to 3,592.68. There were declines in Tokyo as well as the Nikkei 225 was 0.9 percent lower to 17,702.09 and the Topix index dropped 1 percent to 1,737.18, while the Mothers market was down 0.66 percent to 852.13.

Declines extended beyond Asia to most other global markets. European markets saw their biggest losses in five years. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 2.62 percent to 1,530.56, while the Dax was 2.39 percent lower to 7,508.96, the IBEX was down 2.66 percent to 14,540.4 in Madrid, and the Paris CAC-40 fell 2.78 percent to 5,675.05. Losses in London were even bigger than they were in continental Europe. The FTSE 100 was 3.15 percent lower on the session, to 6,251.2, while the FTSE 250 dropped 3.35 percent to 11,033.4.

Wall Street also suffered big losses in early afternoon trade. At just past 1:30 p.m. in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 290 points, or 2.11 percent, to 13,494.46, while the Nasdaq Composite had lost 2.32 percent to 2,586.65 and the S&P 500 was 2.35 percent lower to 1,482.47.

Crude oil and metals prices were lower, while US Treasury bonds saw prices rise and yields fall as investors looked for safe places to put their money as equities markets declined.

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