Global stocks tumble on China property market fears

Global stocks tumble on China property market fears

Global markets swooned Monday, with Dow futures pointing to a more than 650-point drop at opening bell, as investors worried that one of China’s biggest property developers could default on hundreds of billions of debt, which would have ripple effects across the economy.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was pummeled, slumping more than 3 percent to its lowest close in roughly a year. Jitters carried over into Europe, where most major indexes, including the benchmark Stoxx 600, had fallen more than 2 percent in midday trading. China-exposed companies were hit hard, with British mining company Anglo American falling 8 percent and German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp sinking 6.6 percent.

“Any downturn in China would have significant implications for commodities demand given its status as the world’s largest consumer of many minerals and metals,” Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said in comments emailed to The Post. “The situation also has uncomfortable echoes of 2015, when fears about Chinese debt prompted a big and broad-based market correction.”