Fresh Market Turmoil As Asia Heads Lower

Markets in Asia have turned lower in another volatile session a day after steep share price falls across the globe.

Stocks surrendered early gains with the Nikkei in Japan closing 2.4% down to extend a decline from the previous day while China's CSI 300 Index fell 2.9%.
Earlier, Wall Street had closed in the red too though recovering from mid-session lows. The S&P 500 was off 1.2% having been down as much as 4% during the day.
It followed steep declines in Europe which saw the FTSE 100 drop into "bear market" territory - meaning it was more than a fifth off its peak level less than a year ago.
The slump, sparked by China's economic slowdown and the continuing slide in oil prices, wiped £52bn off the combined value of the constituent companies of London's leading share index on Wednesday as it fell 3.5%, or 203 points.
The last time this happened was during the depth of the financial crisis in 2009.

However, David Dai, Shanghai-based investor director at Nanhai Fund Management Co, said fears of a prolonged bear market were overdone.
He said: "With stocks having fallen so much, much of the risk has been priced in and another free fall is quite unlikely, although the chance of a sustainable rebound is also slim.
"China's economy is slowing, but it's still growing much faster than US and Europe.
"While the yuan is under depreciation pressure, China has the ability to control the pace of declines."
The FTSE 100 has had a grim start to 2016, its worst ever, having lost more than 9% in just the first few weeks of the year.
It comes as the price of a barrel of Brent crude trades below $28 at its lowest level since November 2003, following  a warning by the International Energy Agency that the oil market could "drown in oversupply".
Oil has fallen by around three quarters since it topped $115 In June 2014.
This week, China posted its slowest annual growth figure in 25 years.
Meanwhile the International Monetary Fund slashed its growth forecast for the global economy as it predicted a "bumpier ride" for 2016.
A survey of business leaders has found they are gloomier about the future of the global economy than at any time in three years.
The performance of the FTSE 100 is more of a reflection of the global economy than the UK because many of its companies largely operate abroad but is significant for UK investors with many pensions funds having share in some of its big-name firms.