Chinese stock index sinks 7.6 percent; U.S. opens higher

BEIJING (AP) — China’s stock market index tumbled for a fourth day, falling 7.6 percent Tuesday to an eight-month low and Japanese stocks fell.

But The U.S. Dow and other Asian rebounded after a day of heavy global losses, and European markets also bounced back in early trading.

At 9:45 a.m., the Dow Jones Stock Exchange was up more than 300 points after losing 588 points on Monday.

The mixed picture comes a day after a global sell-off and tumultuous day on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones closed down 3.6 percent Monday. Markets in Hong Kong, South Korea, Australia and Singapore posted modest recoveries Tuesday after being hit hard a day earlier.

Analysts said it was unclear whether this was a sign the worst was over or a reprieve in a longer-term bear market.

The Shanghai Composite Index lost 7.6 percent to 2,964.97 points, adding to Monday’s 8.5 percent loss and taking the benchmark to its lowest level since Dec. 15. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 average was in positive territory for parts of the day, but ended up closing down 4 percent at 17,806.70. It had fallen 4.6 percent Monday.

In early trading in Europe, France’s CAC-40 advanced 1.5 percent to 4,449.93, rebounding from the previous session’s 5.4 percent loss. Germany’s DAX gained 1.4 percent to 9,787.97 after dropping 4.7 percent Monday.

Monday’s global sell-off was triggered by the sharp drop in Chinese stocks, but experts said there was little change in economic fundamentals to justify such a massive global slide.