Worries about China’s slowing growth and further drops in oil prices sparked a global stock selloff on Friday.

The cost of a barrel of oil slid below $30 for both the Brent and West Texas Intermediate benchmarks.

In New York, the S&P 500 fell 2.7 percent in afternoon trading, while the Dow was off nearly 2.8 percent and the NASDAQ plunged more than three percent.  

London’s FTSE lost nearly two percent, and Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC were off about 2.4 percent or more.

Earlier Friday, key Asian markets fell sharply. Shanghai stocks dropped 3.5 percent to end at their lowest level in more than a year. Markets in Tokyo, Seoul and Hong Kong also closed down more than one percent.

The slump comes after Chinese authorities reported weaker-than-expected loan data, adding to worries about the world’s second largest economy.

Chinese stocks have fluctuated wildly for months, despite efforts by Beijing to prop up the market.

Source: VOA [xyz-ihs snippet=”Adsense-responsive”]

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