October rout

PETALING JAYA: Asian equities, including Malaysia, were struggling to keep their heads above water in a sea of red following an overnight steep fall in the US markets, which clearly shocked complacent investors.

All the Asian markets stumbled, with Singapore’s Straits Times Index falling 2.60% to 3,050.07 points, Japan’s Nikkei 225 declining 3.89% to 22,590.86 points, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropping 3.54% to 25,266.37 points and China’s Shanghai Stock Exchange plunging 5.22% to 2,583.46 points following suit the US Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), which fell 831.83 points a day before yesterday.