Chinese shares have plummeted more than 8 per cent in morning trade, extending fears of a deep global market sell-off driven by broader concerns around the Chinese economy.

Emerging market economies, many reliant on exporting raw materials, have been hit particularly hard by the spectre of slower Chinese growth and sliding commodities.

Indonesia’s stock index fell 3% in early Monday trade to its lowest point since January 2014, as the global market sold off on deepening concerns about a slowdown in China’s economy.

Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index (Other OTC: HGSXF – news) dropped four percent, or 897.43 points, to 21,512.19.

“The continued fall in oil prices and uncertainty about China’s growth prospects have added further downside risks to Saudi Arabia’s macroeconomic outlook”, Barclays said about the world’s top crude exporter, which has been forced to issue bonds and eat into its foreign reserves to fill the gap of a huge budget deficit.

“Selling pressure around global markets is also weighing on local sentiment”. The Shanghai Composite fell 11.5% over the same period. The Caixin flash China general manufacturing PMI retreated to 47.1 in August, the lowest reading since March 2009.

Monday’s falls adopted heavy falls on Wall Road on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Common posting its worst single-day session in 4 years and all benchmark indices dropping greater than three %.

The CSI 300 and 500 indices, comprising of the 300 and 500-largest firms by market capitalisation in Shanghai and Shenzhen, are lower by 8.38% and 7.75% respectively. “It is regular because the markets throughout the entire world are falling”, Qian Qimin, an analyst from Shenwan Hongyuan, advised AFP.

Chinese shares have been extremely volatile in recent weeks, plunging nearly a third from June, after having risen over 150 percent in the preceding 12 months.

The MAC global solar index, which soared in early 2015, has nearly halved in value since April, pulled down by the tumbling Chinese stock markets.

“The pension fund news will not help, because the money is limited, you don’t know when the money will come in, and the purchase is not sustainable”, said Qi. “And valuations are still not cheap”. “Speculators are selling assets that seem the most vulnerable”, said Takako Masai, the head of research at Shinsei Bank in Tokyo.

The government is “trying to defy market forces at overvalued levels”, said Mr Daniel So, a strategist at CMB worldwide Securities in Hong Kong.