BEIJING: China stock markets closed their worst monthly performance in more than three years in August, as shares struggled to recover from a global selloff sparked by worries about China.
A slowdown in China’s economy, magnified by a surprise devaluation of the Chinese yuan earlier this month, accelerated a rout in Shanghai that spread across the globe, pushing down everything from stocks in the U.S. and Europe, to commodities and emerging market-currencies. While stability has returned in recent days in Asia, the selloff has left currencies in the region near multiyear lows and stocks at their lowest levels in months.
The Shanghai Composite Index SHCOMP, -0.82% ended down 12.5% this month, its third straight month of declines, and a close runner-up to July’s 14% loss, which was the index’s biggest monthly drop since August 2009.
The MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index of stocks is down roughly 8.3% in U.S. dollar terms, its worst monthly record since May 2012. That compares with the S&P 500’s SPX, +0.06% 5.5% loss in the same period. The index, a benchmark, is off about 13% from its April peak.
On Monday, the Shanghai benchmark finished down 0.8% at 3205.99, which dragged most of the region’s shares lower as well. Currencies weakened slightly from their late-Friday levels in Asia, with the Indonesian rupiah hovering near its 17-year low.
