KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 24): The FBM KLCI fell 2.1% as China economic concerns routed Asian share and commodity markets.

At 3:38pm, the KLCI fell to 1,541.26 points on losses in stocks like SapuraKencana Petroleum Bhd and Sime Darby Bhd. China's Shanghai Composite dropped 8.5%, while Japan's Nikkei 225 lost 4.61%. South Korea's Kospi was down 2.47%

Reuters reported alarm bells rang across world markets on Monday, as a 9 % dive in Chinese shares and a sharp drop in the dollar and major commodities panicked investors. European stocks opened more than 3 % in the red, after their Asian counterparts slumped to 3-year lows, as a three month-long rout in Chinese equities threatened to get out of hand.

"Markets are panicking. Things are starting look like the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s. Speculators are selling assets that seem the most vulnerable," Takako Masai, head of research at Shinsei Bank in Tokyo, was quoted as saying.

In Malaysia, Bursa Malaysia saw decliners leading gainers at 915 to 64, while 118 counters remained unchanged. Volume stood at 1.9 billion shares, valued at RM1.51 billion.

Top decliners included Panasonic Manufacturing Malaysia Bhd and Sime Darby. Share index-linked put warrants dominated top gainers.

A remisier told theedgemarkets.com that KLCI’s performance was parallel to the regional market slump.

He said the volume traded on the KLCI was mainly contributed by call and put warrant transactions by hedge funds. The remisier expects the trend to continue.

“The trading will continue until arbitrage profit can be gained,” he said.