Analysis: Behind the global stock market plunge of 2016 | Business and Economy
Global equity markets have been on a rollercoaster ride since the opening sessions of 2016. The violent lurch lower in stocks was initially triggered by fears that an economic slowdown in China, the world’s second largest economy, was spinning out of control.
But it was the spectacular collapse in oil prices that really lent impetus to the January sell-off.
“Fear, not economic fundamentals, sparked the frenzied sell-off in China as the new year got under way which then spread to global markets and the oil price slide has compounded the pessimism,” said Beijing-based economist Chen Chen, at the Economist Intelligence Unit.
WATCH: What’s behind China’s stock market meltdown?
China is in the midst of a shift from an economy…
