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As Stocks Lose $2.1 Trillion, Asia Markets Bear Brunt of Selloff

It’s been a brutal two weeks for global equities, but for those invested in Asia it’s been even worse.

As Stocks Lose $2.1 Trillion, Asia Markets Bear Brunt of Selloff
Stock information is displayed on an electronic board at a securities exchange house in Shanghai, China. (Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- It’s been a brutal two weeks for global equities, but for those invested in Asia it’s been even worse.

More than three-fourths of the $2.1 trillion lost in stock values worldwide came from the region. China bore the brunt, with the selloff erasing $746 billion as the Shanghai Composite Index came close to entering a bear market.

As Stocks Lose $2.1 Trillion, Asia Markets Bear Brunt of Selloff

While some analysts say dumping Chinese shares is a mistake, strategists from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to Morgan Stanley slashed forecasts for Asian markets this week. The Philippine benchmark equity index joined Vietnam’s into a bear market, and gauges of Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand and Indonesia are down more than 10 percent from their highs.

Indian equities were the only ones in Asia adding value in the two weeks through June 21. Minutes from the recent RBI policy meeting showed the central bank was less hawkish than some market participants had expected.

Here is how much Asian markets suffered in the past two weeks (with India as the exception):

CountryChange in equity market cap (U.S. dollars, millions)
China-745,864
Hong Kong-359,190
South Korea-154,443
Japan-124,427
Taiwan-55,891
Thailand-37,190
Indonesia-33,426
Singapore-30,178
Australia-23,947
Philippines-22,839
Malaysia-20,447
Vietnam-12,036
Pakistan-5,724
New Zealand-1,059
Sri Lanka-457
India+5,783

--With assistance from Ravil Shirodkar.

To contact the reporter on this story: Cecile Vannucci in Hong Kong at cvannucci1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Chris Nagi at chrisnagi@bloomberg.net, Divya Balji, Ravil Shirodkar

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.