Chinese stocks fall
© Toru Hanai / Reuters
The Shanghai composite has closed down 8.5 percent in a brutal selloff, as Beijing's measures have failed to ease investor concerns about the slowdown of the world's second-largest economy. China's stocks are now down for the year after being up 60 percent in June.

Shanghai composite
© Bloomberg
"This is a real disaster and it seems nothing can stop it," Chen Gang, Shanghai-based chief investment officer at Heqitongyi Asset Management Co., told Bloomberg. "If we don't cut holdings ourselves, the fund faces risk of forced closure. Many newly-started private funds suffered that recently. I hope we can survive."

Asian markets followed China with a broad selloff.


Japan's Nikkei has closed 4.61 percent down. Hong Kong's Hang Seng is 5.17 percent in deficit. Mumbai's Sensex is down over 4 percent.


The ripple effects are being felt on the European markets.

London's FTSE is down 2.71 percent in early trading. Germany's DAX is losing 2.66 percent, sliding below the 10,000-point mark for the first time since January, as of 09:23 GMT.


The European stock markets have continued last week's negative trend, when 13 out of 18 Western European markets lost 10 percent or more, with Germany's DAX down 18 percent. London's FTSE 100 Index suffered its biggest weekly drop in 2015, slumping 5.2 percent.

Commodities are down across the board with Brent crude trading below $44 per barrel, which is a six-and-a-half-year low.

On Friday, the US WTI crude benchmark dropped below $40 per barrel in an eighth straight weekly decline, the longest falling streak in almost 30 years.

The Russian ruble has fallen to its lowest level since February against major currencies, dragged down by both weak oil and Chinese stocks. The ruble was trading at over 71 rubles against the US dollar and 81.78 rubles against the euro as of 09:25 GMT.

Equity markets in Moscow are in the red with the RTS losing 5.51 percent and the MICEX down over two percent as of 09:25 GMT.

Over the last month, the Chinese government has taken drastic measures to stop the stock market's decline. On Sunday, the Xinhua news agency reported that Beijing would allow its main state pension fund to invest up to 30 percent of its net assets in China-listed shares for the first time.

In mid-August, the People's Bank of China devalued the yuan over three consecutive days, stopping at a 4.4 percent overall depreciation. The move intended to help faltering exports sowed panic in the world's equity markets and may have started a new wave of currency wars.


What the latest currency war is all about


The real Chinese economy has been showing signs of slowing growth. In a report published last Friday by Caixin and Markit, it became clear that manufacturing has been losing momentum. The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), its key indicator, saw a fall to 47.1 from 47.8 in July. This is the lowest level since March 2009 and shows a contraction.


24 August 2015
  • 09:53 GMT

    Oil prices, including Brent crude, could go down below $40 per barrel for a short time, Russian Economic Development Minister Aleksey Ulyukaev told TASS.
  • 09:21 GMT

    Equity markets in Moscow are in the red with the RTS losing more than 5.51 percent and the MICEX down over two percent.
  • 09:15 GMT

    Russian ruble has fallen to its lowest level against major currencies since February. The ruble is trading at 71.2 against the dollar and 81.78 against the euro.
  • 09:09 GMT

    As of 08:52 GMT, Brent was trading at $43.77 per barrel, down 3.72 percent.
  • 09:07 GMT

    Brent crude has dipped below $44 per barrel amid uncertainty over the Chinese markets, its lowest point since 2009.
  • 08:46 GMT

    On the European markets, London's FTSE is down 2.52 percent in early trading. Germany's DAX has shed 2.77 percent, while France's CAC index is 2.68 percent lower.
  • 08:29 GMT

    The Russian ruble has hit new lows against major currencies, dragged down by both weak oil and Chinese stocks. The Russian currency was trading near 71 rubles against the dollar and 81.40 rubles against the euro as of 08:22 GMT.
  • 07:47 GMT

    As of 06:17 GMT, Brent oil was trading at $44.07 per barrel, which is a six-and-a-half-year low.