Asian stocks bleed; MSCI Asia Pacific ex Japan Index at 15 year low

The panic selling in Asian stocks sparked off after the global energy watchdog warned of oversupply of crude to further intensify economic turmoil.

Tumbling crude oil prices took a heavy toll on Asian stock markets as institutional investors refrained from getting into riskier assets in emerging Asian markets. Paring previous session’s gains, all major Asian stock markets are currently trading lower. MSCI's Asia-Pacific (ex Japan) Index fell by 2.1% to reach depths not seen since late 2011.

The panic selling in Asian stocks sparked off after the global energy watchdog warned of oversupply of crude to further intensify economic turmoil. Moreover, slowing down of Chinese GDP added to the misery of Asian stocks.

The Shanghai Composite Index is currently trading 1.38% lower at 2,966.66 points; while the CSI 300 Index is trading 1.64% lower at 3,170.33 points.

Among other Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index is trading 3% lower at 16,552.38 points, Hong Kong’s Heng Seng Index is currently trading 3.92% lower at 18,894.88, Singapore’s Straits Times at 2,570.77 points (-2.63%), Taiwan’s Weighted Index at 7,706.23 points (-1.93%), South Korea’s Kospi Index at 1,836.95 points (-2.87%), Thailand’s SET Composite Index at 1,254.93 points (-0.88%), Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite Index at 4,475.23 points (-0.37%) and Singapore Nifty, better know as SGX Nifty, is currently trading 1.90% lower at 7,298.50 points.

Meanwhile, in India, the S&P BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 index are currently trading 1.78% and 1.73% lower respectively.