Asian stocks hit 17-month lows as China worries markets

Shares across Asia fell to 17-month lows on Tuesday opening, dragged down by investors’ jitters regarding China’s near-term economic outlook.

Index-provider MSCI’s Asia-Pacific trackers fell a further 0.15% after closing Monday at the lowest level since May 2017, even after Beijing announced its plans to inject close to $110 billion into the economy.

Despite the sting being seen across many Asian markets, China led the drop with mainland blue-chip stocks down 4.3% on Monday – the largest single-day fall since the start of 2016. This is expected to weigh on market sentiment elsewhere in the nation’s economy.

“Risk sentiment is in a foul mood and stock are sinking everywhere,” JP Morgan analysts wrote in a note quoted by Reuters. “The reasons are myriad and many are a continuation of recent overhangs.”