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          Slumping China Economy, Oil Prices Send Asian Markets Lower

   by VOA News

   Asian stock prices took another dive Wednesday, thanks to further drop
   in global oil prices, China's economic slowdown and a pessimistic
   outlook for the overall global economy this year.

   Tokyo's Nikkei index officially entered bear market territory after
   losing nearly four percent by the end of the trading day, while the
   Hang Seng in Hong Kong dropped 3.5 percent and South Korea's Kospi lost
   2.3 percent.

   China's Shanghai index and Australia's ASX/S&P 200 each fell 1.3
   percent on Wednesday.

   Investors are turning pessimistic after three rounds of bad news this
   week, starting with China's announcement Tuesday that its economy grew
   6.9 percent in 2015, its slowest full-year growth in 25 years, followed
   by International Monetary Fund's decision to lower its global economic
   growth forecast for 2016 to 3.4 percent, 0.2 percent lower than its
   previous estimate.

   A further blow came when prices for U.S. oil fell below $28 a barrel,
   the lowest mark in 12 years, after the International Energy Agency
   issued a report warning that global oil markets could "drown in
   oversupply" as demand plunges.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/slumping-china-economy-oil-prices-sen
   d-asian-markets-lower/3153990.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/slumping-china-economy-oil-prices-send-asian-markets-lower/3153990.html