ANKARA
There was rout on global stock markets Monday after shares on China's major exchanges saw the worst losses since 2007.
Asian stocks fell sharply: the Hang Seng Index dropped 2.7 percent; Australia's S&P ASX 200 was down 0.2 percent; Japan's Nikkei closed down 1 percent; and South Korea's Kospi lost 0.4 percent.
In Europe, the pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 fell 1.3 percent on Monday. Germany’s DAX dropped 1.1 percent, France’s CAC 40 lost 1.2 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 declined 0.2 percent.
U.S. stocks are unlikely to fare better. Stock index futures indicated a 0.2 percent drop at the open for the S&P 500. On Friday, the index closed down 1.1 percent.
The global rout comes after stocks in China took a terrible beating.
China's Shanghai Composite index shed 8.5 percent on Monday and there are concerns that it will plummet into a crash. The Shenzhen Composite fell 7 percent and the small-cap ChiNext closed 7.4 percent lower.
The Chinese government had taken steps to stabilize markets using state-owned funds to intervene.
However, a selloff on Monday was triggered by investor fears that the government is withdrawing support measures. There is concern that the slump in China will pressure global stocks lower for some time.
