LONDON (Reuters) - A renewed slide in Chinese shares and a sobering set of factory surveys sucked world shares lower on Monday, while European markets and the Mexican peso were both jolted by political developments at home.
It was the first day of the new month, quarter and half-year but there was no let up for bruised investors after the worst start to a year for world shares since 2010.
Shanghai’s bear market lurch had continued overnight, with losses of up to three percent [.SS] as firms await some $34 billion of U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods this week and as new business surveys showed some worrying signs of deterioration.
Europe started with a thud too, with the pan-European STOXX 600 index dropping 1 percent and the euro down 0.5 percent against the dollar at $1.1630 EUR=EBS as the stability of Germany's coalition government remained in focus.
Trade war worries were also being compounded by an EU threat to hit the United States with almost $300 billion in retaliatory tariffs and by data which had showed the weakest euro zone manufacturing growth in 18 months.
Europe was also facing the impact of a threat to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s German ruling coalition.
“There are a lot of uncertainties out there,” said Rabobank’s Head of Macro Strategy Elwin de Groot.
“It is pretty unclear what is going to happen in Germany and the trade concerns are really top of mind at the moment, so we are seeing quite a lot of weakness in emerging markets.”
All the concerns meant more demand for safe-haven bonds. U.S. Treasuries and German Bund both saw buying while E-Mini futures for Wall
