LONDON: European shares tumbled on Monday as growing solvency worries about property group China Evergrande spooked investors, in a dour start to a week packed with meetings of major central banks. The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 1.7%, with mining stocks plunging 3.6% on a slide in commodity prices.
Asian equities ended sharply lower following a torrid session for China Evergrande Group, the world's most indebted property developer.
"More significant from the perspective of world markets is the concerning situation with huge Chinese property developer Evergrande, which appears to be teetering on the precipice with concerns about contagion from the situation infecting the wider economy in China. This is particularly bad news for miners," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
The benchmark European STOXX 600 has declined for three straight weeks on worries about slowing global growth, soaring inflation, persistently high COVID-19 cases and the spillover from tighter regulation of Chinese firms.
The US Federal Reserve's policy meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday is in focus as the central bank is expected to lay the groundwork for a trimming of its massive pandemic stimulus. Overall, 16 central banks are scheduled to hold meetings this week, including in the UK, Norway, Switzerland and Japan.
"Expectations are growing the US central bank will start laying out the groundwork for a tapering of bond purchases, potentially tee-ing up for a November kick-off," said Fiona Cincotta, senior financial markets analyst at City Index.
German shares fell 2.3% as data showed a bigger-than-expected jump in producer prices last month. In its biggest ever overhaul, the blue-chip German index began trading on Monday with an increase in the number of constituents to 40 from 30.
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