After a rally on Monday, Tuesday was another bleak day for Asian stocks, with most indexes falling around 2 percent and further dampening investor confidence worldwide.

Japan’s Nikkei index fell 2.4 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 2.3 percent. Mainland Chinese shares were the worst hit again, slumping more than six percent to a 14-month low as Beijing struggle to prove that they can control their volatile markets.

As European markets opened earlier today it became clear that the rout has extended globally; the FTSE is down 1.6 percent, the DAX down 1.5 percent and the EURO STOXX 50 down 1.6 percent also.

Investors are increasingly worried about oil prices, which have continued to fall from their rock bottom – Crude has tumbled another 7 percent so far this week, with production still on the increase.

The chairman of Saudi Aramco confirmed on Monday the firm is continuing to invest in oil and gas production capacity, and Iraq have shown no signs of curbing output from their record high.

The massive price fall is putting huge pressure on profitability of energy firms worldwide, which are in turn slashing investment and cutting jobs.

26/01/2016