Global stock markets suffered heavy falls yesterday after the biggest drop in Chinese shares for a decade and weak US economic data triggered a sharp rise in risk aversion.
Investors rushed to take profits after a long bull run, as concerns over Iran, worries about the US subprime mortgage market, and a warning from Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the Federal Reserve, about a possible US recession punctured recent market optimism.
There was a sell-off in higher risk credit markets and sign of an unwinding of the global carry trade, where investors borrow in currencies with low interest rates to buy higher-yielding assets elsewhere.
Mainland China shares fell by nearly 9 percent amid fears that the authorities were planning a crackdown to cool the market’s exuberance. Traders said it was highly unusual for events in Chinese markets to have a global impact, but saw it as a sign of China’s increasing influence on the global economy.