Global equities teetered on the edge of bear market territory as the relentless gloom that has enveloped markets around the world since the start of 2016 showed little sign of lifting.
全球股市沒有停止跌勢,自2016年開始以來持續籠罩世界各地股市的陰云似乎沒有消散的跡象。
Once again oil prices provided the main driving force as crude benchmarks on both sides of the Atlantic sank to multiyear lows, fanning concerns about the prospects for global economic growth.
油價再一次提供了下跌的主要動力,大西洋兩岸的原油基準跌至多年低點,引發有關全球經濟增長前景的擔憂。
The FTSE All-World equity index was down 2.8 per cent on the day at its lowest point since mid-2013, just a fraction short of closing 20 per cent down from the record high it reached last year, the usual definition of a bear market.
富時環球指數(FTSE All-World Index)昨日下跌2.8%,至2013年年中以來最低點,比去年達到的紀錄高位下降了近20%——超過20%就是通常定義的熊市范疇。
Both the FTSE 100, down 3.5 per cent on the day, and the Nikkei 225, lower by 3.7 per cent, fell into “bear” territory, joining the pan-European Stoxx 600 index, down 3.2 per cent, the Xetra Dax, off 2.8 per cent, and the Shanghai Composite, 1 per cent weaker.
富時100指數(FTSE 100)昨日下降3.5%,日經225指數(Nikkei 225)下跌3.7%,跌入“熊市”區間,泛歐斯托克600指數(Stoxx 600)下跌3.2%,德國Xetra Dax指數下跌2.8%,上證綜指下跌1%。
On Wall Street the S&P 500 was down 2.9 per cent at 1,827 by midday in New York, its lowest intraday level since October 2014. That left it 14 per cent short of its record May peak, and 10.6 per cent down since the start of the year.
華爾街方面,標普500指數(S&P 500)下跌1.2%,至1859點,這是自2014年10月以來最低盤中水平。
Not surprisingly, energy stocks were the day’s worst performers on Wall Street as the sector fell 4.9 per cent, with basic materials not far behind.
并不出人意料的是,華爾街當日表現最差的是能源股,該板塊下跌2.7%,基礎材料板塊表現第二差。
Those losses came as US West Texas Intermediate crude tumbled 7 per cent to $26.45 a barrel, the lowest since 2003, amid concerns that the global oil glut is poised to get even bigger even as demand deteriorates. Brent, the international crude marker, was 4.4 per cent weaker at a 12-year low of $27.50.
全球股市下跌之際,美國基準西德克薩斯中質油(West Texas Intermediate, WTI)下跌6.7%,至每桶26.76美元,投資者擔心隨著需求下降,全球石油供應過剩可能加劇。國際油價指標布倫特(Brent)下跌3.1%,至每桶27.88美元,為12年來的低點。
Currencies of oil-supplying countries stayed mostly under the cosh, with the Russian rouble hitting a record low against the dollar and the US currency rising 1 per cent versus the Norwegian krone. But the Canadian dollar held steady after the Bank of Canada surprised some in the markets by leaving interest rates unchanged.
產油國貨幣大多仍處于劣勢,俄羅斯盧布兌美元匯率跌至歷史新低,美元兌挪威克朗上升0.9%。但加元維持穩定,此前加拿大央行(Bank of Canada)維持利率不變,令部分市場人士感到意外。