Fall in China, worries over Wall St hit stocks

A 200-point plunge in the Dow Jones Industrial Average's futures contract on Tuesday reminded players that maybe markets have not bottomed yet and dragged the Straits Times Index (STI) 38.67 points or 1.3 per cent down to 2,882.77.

Turnover was in line with recent totals at 1.8 billion units worth S$1.1 billion and excluding warrants, there were 130 rises versus 300 falls. Of the dollar total, S$793 million or 72 per cent was done in the 30 STI components.

Adding to the pressure was renewed weakness in China and Hong Kong, where large price falls and a surge in volatility have marked trading over the past three weeks. This came after news that manufacturing has continued to weaken - the official purchasing managers' index fell from 50 in July fell to 49…