HONG KONG — Markets in Asia sank on Thursday, as traders surrendered to the fears that had sent shares tumbling in Japan, Europe and the United States the previous day.
香港——在恐慌情绪的影响下,亚洲股市周四普遍下跌,而这种恐慌已经在前一天导致了日本和欧美股市的下挫。
Markets have been volatile this year, as slowing growth in China and lower oil prices have worried investors. Those concerns drove global markets lower on Wednesday; at the close of trading, London and Japan were down more than 20 percent from their near-term highs, in bear market territory.
今年的股市波动性较大,投资者对中国经济增长放缓和油价下跌感到焦虑。在这些担忧的推动下,周三全球市场下行;伦敦和日本股市的收盘点位,与近期的高点相比,已经下跌逾20%,进入了熊市轨道。
But through midday trading in Europe on Thursday, the Asian decline was not carrying over. All the major European indexes, including the FTSE 100 in London, were marginally higher.
但从周四欧洲股市的午盘表现来看,亚洲股市的暴跌没有蔓延到这里。包括伦敦富时100指数(FTSE100)在内的所有主要欧洲股指均有小幅走高。
Futures pointed to lower openings in the United States.
在美国,期货市场跳空低开。
Oil prices, which are expected to continue to slide when Iran increases its production and adds to the glut that has already pushed prices down, could be a boon for companies and consumers, reducing their costs. But traders have worried that the low price is also a sign of waning demand, already an issue with the slowdown in China’s economy. Asian markets seemed to reflect few of these worries on Thursday morning, but the calm did not last past midday. The Nikkei 225-share index, which had closed down 3.7 percent on Wednesday, lost an additional 2.4 percent Thursday. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong reversed the 1.5 percent it had gained in the morning and was down 1.8 percent at the close.
石油价格预计将会继续下滑,因为伊朗决定增加石油产量,而供过于求的石油本来就造成了油价的下跌。这对企业和消费者可能是一个好消息,因为可以降低生产生活成本。但交易者担心,价格降低显示了需求削弱,随着中国经济增长放缓,这已经成为了一个问题。周四上午,亚洲市场似乎还没有显示出这种忧虑的迹象,但平静没有持续到午盘。日经225股指数本周三就下跌了3.7%,周四又跌去2.4%。香港恒生指数周四上午冲高1.5%,然后掉头下行,收盘时跌幅为1.8%。
Markets in mainland China were nervous through the day. The main Shanghai index finished 3.2 percent lower, while Shenzhen shares closed 4 percent lower. The CSI 300 index of blue-chip stocks, the measure for the new “circuit breakers” that caused turmoil at the start of the year, fell 2.9 percent.
中国内地股市度过了紧张的一天。上证综指跌3.2%,深圳股市跌4%。沪深300蓝筹股指数,也就是年初掀起风波的“熔断机制”参考的指数,本周四下跌了2.9%。
In the unsettling movements on Wednesday, the Euro Stoxx 50 closed down 3.3 percent. Although stocks in the United States plunged during the day, they pared losses later. The Dow closed down 1.6 percent, while the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index fell 1.2 percent. This led some analysts to suggest that financial markets might be overreacting and that the moves might not reflect the strength of the global economy.
欧洲STOXX50指数(Euro Stoxx50)周三的走势令人不安,收盘跌3.3%。美国股市虽然当天盘中出现过重挫,但后来跌幅收窄。道指收盘时下跌1.6%,标准普尔500种股票指数跌1.2%。这导致一些分析人士认为,金融市场可能反应过度,其走势并未反映全球经济的实力。
In Europe, the FTSE 100, which closed 3.5 percent lower on Wednesday, was up by about 0.50 percent through early afternoon on Thursday. The Euro Stoxx index was up about 0.60 percent.
在欧洲,富时100指数本周三跌3.5%,周四午间微涨0.50%。欧洲STOXX50指数上涨约0.60%。