Hong Kong, China stocks tumble, joining global sell-off

Commodity-related shares were also among the worst casualties on worries that a cooling economy would damp demand for metals such as copper, steel and iron.

Stocks slid on Tuesday, with the benchmark Shanghai index down 2 percent amid diminishing turnover.

Sam Chi Yung, a strategist at Delta Asia Securities Ltd, said that with the Hang Seng now falling below the September 8 low, which was seen by many as a key support level, the index could decline to as low as 19,500 points by the end of this year. “And the economic situation is not good in Europe, either”.

On the Hong Kong market, financial stocks were especially weak.

Hong Kong-listed Chinese oil giants, including Sinopec, PetroChina and CNOOC all tumbled over 6 per cent.

But trading remained thin – daily trading volume in Shanghai was just one-fifth of its early-June peak – reflecting a general “risk-off” mood ahead of a seven-day National Day Holiday that starts on Thursday.

“We will get further insight later this week, with the latest Caixin manufacturing and services PMI, numbers for September, alongside the official number on Thursday”.

The Nikkei Stock Average closed down 4.05% and turned negative for the year, although there was slightly more positive news on the data front, as small business confidence in the country edged from 48.8 in August to 49.0 this month. There were 1,992 losers, but only 421 gainers.