Overseas Trading: Shanghai Stocks Swallow Steepest Loss in Years

Asian markets traded lower today, led by a bloodbath for Chinese stocks. Specifically, the Shanghai Composite took an 8.5% nosedive, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 3.1%. Ongoing weakness in commodities contributed to the sell-off, as did reports that the government is tapping the brakes on its market-stabilizing efforts. Also contributing to the slide was Wall Street's drop on Friday, and disappointing figures on China's industrial profits. Overall, Shanghai's main bourse suffered its biggest single-day decline since February 2007. Elsewhere in Asia, Japan's Nikkei closed 1% lower in the face of a stronger yen, and South Korea's Kospi dropped 0.4%. 

In Europe, stocks are taking a cue from their Asian counterparts, and indexes across the board are moving lower. Caution ahead of this week's U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) policy-setting meeting is also contributing to the risk-off attitude. At last check, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 were each 1.6% lower. London's FTSE 100, meanwhile, is off 0.4%.