China's response to slowing growth has global effect as indexes tumble

An investor at a brokerage in Huaibei, Anhui province, on Monday. The Shanghai Composite Index slid 1.7 percent to 2,289.87 points, hitting a three-week low. XIE ZHENGYI/CHINA DAILY

Stocks fell in numerous markets on Monday, led by Hong Kong shares, while United States equity-index futures tumbled with commodities amid speculation that China may accept slower growth.

Bonds rallied after officials from the world's biggest economies warned of rising financial risks.

Finance Minister Lou Jiwei said that growth in Asia's largest economy faces downward pressure and reiterated that there will not be major policy changes in response to individual economic indicators.

Group of 20 finance ministers and central bankers said that low interest rates could lead to a potential increase in financial market risk, as major economies rely on monetary stimulus to bolster uneven growth.

Lou "gave a real hint that the recent policy easing may actually be quite limited", Stuart Beavis, head of institutional equity derivatives at Vantage Capital Markets in Hong Kong, said by phone. "We're just not going to see this wall of money thrown at the Chinese slowdown."

China will not alter economic policy

Shanghai Composite Index slides below 2,300 points

A gauge of Chinese mainland companies listed in Hong Kong slipped 1.8 percent in a third straight retreat. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.7 percent.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index slipped 2.1 percent last week to the lowest level since July.

A preliminary reading on the HSBC Holdings Plc-Markit Ltd China manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index for September is due on Tuesday, with economists surveyed by Bloomberg predicting a drop to 50 from 50.2 in August.

China's economy is growing in a stable way and operating within a reasonable range, Lou said in a statement published on the People's Bank of China website. Macroeconomic policy will focus on "comprehensive" targets, particularly job growth and price stability, it said.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 1.3 percent, while the Kospi index in Seoul slipped 0.7 percent. China is the biggest trading partner for both countries and the world's largest consumer of metals.

The Bloomberg Commodity Index slipped 0.6 percent toward its lowest close since July 2009 as copper for three-month delivery on the London Metal Exchange fell a fourth day. The metal lost 1.4 percent to $6,740 a metric ton, headed for its lowest close since June 19.

Brent crude slid to $97.88 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate retreated 0.5 percent to $91.99. Iron-ore futures fell to a record low in Singapore.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 0.7 percent, as SoftBank Corp declined 6.1 percent. The Topix index slipped 0.1 percent from a six-year closing high.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell after capping five weeks of gains and closing at a four-year high of 1,055.85 on Friday. The yen advanced 0.2 percent to 108.86 per dollar and the euro climbed 0.2 percent to $1.2859.

The pound gained 0.4 percent to $1.6346 after falling 0.7 percent on Friday to trim a weekly advance of 0.1 percent after voters in Scotland rejected independence.

Yields on 10-year US Treasury securities fell 2 basis points to 2.56 percent after dropping 4 bps last week. The rate on similar maturity Japanese notes fell 2 basis points to 0.54 percent, the lowest since Sept 10.

The Fed will keep interest rates near zero for a "considerable time" after asset purchases are completed, most likely next month, it said last week as officials raised their median estimate for the federal funds rate at the end of 2015.

G20 officials said on Sunday in a communique released in Cairns, Australia, that they "are mindful of the potential for a buildup of excessive risk in financial markets, particularly in an environment of low interest rates and low asset price volatility".

The ministers welcomed signs of strength in some key economies, but they noted that "growth in the global economy is uneven".

The NZX 50 Index climbed the most since April in Wellington, New Zealand, after John Key won a third term as premier, while the local dollar rose to 81.38 cents, after slipping 0.3 percent in the five days to Friday in a fifth weekly decline.

In South Korea, the won appreciated 0.4 percent to 1,040.8 per dollar.