Asian markets moved sharply down in concert on Wednesday as fears for the health of the US were driven home.
Citi’s dreadful financial results – its first loss since it was created – and a slew of bearish macroeconomic data on US consumer spending sent stocks lower.
At 7:45 GMT:
The Nikkei closed down 3.35% having reached a 26-month low in morning trade
The Hang Seng closed down 5.37%
The FTSE Xinhua 200 was down 3.56%
The S&P/ASX 200 was down 2.5%
Declines were led by the banks, with HSBC dropping 3.2 per cent in Hong Kong. Property, Automakers and Miners all fell too.
In London, market reports suggested the FTSE could drop through the 6,000 point mark at, or shortly after, open.
Update: The FTSE fell through the 6,000 mark on opening, continue to fall. Down 1.5% at 8:20GMT.