Shares of banks and lenders were among the worst performers amid worries about spreading contagion from troubles in China's property market.
Investors increasingly believe that Beijing will let property developer China Evergrande fail and inflict losses on its shareholders and bondholders. The company's debt burden is the biggest for any publicly traded real estate management or development company in the world.
Hong Kong-listed shares of Evergrande, which said on Sept. 13 that it was facing unprecedented difficulties, tumbled more than 10% to their lowest closing level in a decade. The Hang Seng Index dropped 3.3% to its lowest close since October. Mainland Chinese markets were closed for a holiday.
In U.S. markets, shares of Invesco fell around 9%, while Goldman Sachs shares were down about 3.5%. Speculative assets like bitcoin fell sharply.
In deal news, two investment firms serving well-heeled clients are merging and plan to go public early next year in a SPAC deal. Tiedemann Group and Alvarium Investments plan to merge with special-purpose acquisition company Cartesian Growth, the companies said. The new entity, Alvarium Tiedemann Holdings, will continue its predecessor firms' focus on high-net-worth and ESG (environmental, social and governance) investing.
Meanwhile, Fidelity Investments appointed Joanna Rotenberg to head its personal-investing business, picking an outsider to spearhead the division amid unprecedented demand from individual investors.
Allianz's top asset-management executive is in talks to leave the company, according to people familiar with the matter, as it navigates a Justice Department probe into a group of investment funds that suffered steep losses last year.
Write to Amy Pessetto at amy.pessetto@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
09-20-21 1736ET
