Worldwide Selloff Presages Early Plunge On Wall Street - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - U.S. stocks look poised for a a notable drop at the start of trading on Monday, following a significant decline in other global markets. Growing concerns about China's economy has sparked panic selling throughout the world.

Another sharp decline would add to weakness seen last week, which had already taken the major averages to multi-month lows. On Friday, the Dow plummeted 530.94 points or 3.1 percent to 16,459.75, the Nasdaq tumbled 171.45 points or 3.5 percent to 4,706.04, and the S&P 500 plunged 64.84 points or 3.2 percent to 1,970.89.

On the week, the major averages were each down by more than 6 percent, hurt by overarching concerns about developing economies and the outlook for U.S. interest rates.

Further downward pressure will come Monday as investors react to the sharp selloff seen in overseas markets. This included an 8.5 percent drop in mainland China, as investors worry the Chinese economy is much weaker than suspected and that the country's central bank would move to weaken its currency over time to boost sagging exports.

Japanese shares fell the most in two years as part of the global rout. The benchmark Nikkei average slumped 895.15 points or 4.61 percent to 18,540.68, its lowest level since February 23.

Europe saw a similar sell off. Germany, France and the U.K. are each off by more than 4 percent.