Global equities teetered on the edge of bear market territory as the relentless gloom that has enveloped markets around the world since the start of 2016 showed little sign of lifting.

全球股市没有停止跌势，自2016年开始以来持续笼罩世界各地股市的阴云似乎没有消散的迹象。

Once again oil prices provided the main driving force as crude benchmarks on both sides of the Atlantic sank to multiyear lows, fanning concerns about the prospects for global economic growth.

油价再一次提供了下跌的主要动力，大西洋两岸的原油基准跌至多年低点，引发有关全球经济增长前景的担忧。

The FTSE All-World equity index was down 2.8 per cent on the day at its lowest point since mid-2013, just a fraction short of closing 20 per cent down from the record high it reached last year, the usual definition of a bear market.

富时环球指数(FTSE All-World Index)昨日下跌2.8%，至2013年年中以来最低点，比去年达到的纪录高位下降了近20%——超过20%就是通常定义的熊市范畴。

Both the FTSE 100, down 3.5 per cent on the day, and the Nikkei 225, lower by 3.7 per cent, fell into “bear” territory, joining the pan-European Stoxx 600 index, down 3.2 per cent, the Xetra Dax, off 2.8 per cent, and the Shanghai Composite, 1 per cent weaker.

富时100指数(FTSE 100)昨日下降3.5%，日经225指数(Nikkei 225)下跌3.7%，跌入“熊市”区间，泛欧斯托克600指数(Stoxx 600)下跌3.2%，德国Xetra Dax指数下跌2.8%，上证综指下跌1%。

On Wall Street the S&P 500 was down 2.9 per cent at 1,827 by midday in New York, its lowest intraday level since October 2014. That left it 14 per cent short of its record May peak, and 10.6 per cent down since the start of the year.

华尔街方面，标普500指数(S&P 500)下跌1.2%，至1859点，这是自2014年10月以来最低盘中水平。

Not surprisingly, energy stocks were the day’s worst performers on Wall Street as the sector fell 4.9 per cent, with basic materials not far behind.

并不出人意料的是，华尔街当日表现最差的是能源股，该板块下跌2.7%，基础材料板块表现第二差。

Those losses came as US West Texas Intermediate crude tumbled 7 per cent to $26.45 a barrel, the lowest since 2003, amid concerns that the global oil glut is poised to get even bigger even as demand deteriorates. Brent, the international crude marker, was 4.4 per cent weaker at a 12-year low of $27.50.

全球股市下跌之际，美国基准西德克萨斯中质油(West Texas Intermediate, WTI)下跌6.7%，至每桶26.76美元，投资者担心随着需求下降，全球石油供应过剩可能加剧。国际油价指标布伦特(Brent)下跌3.1%，至每桶27.88美元，为12年来的低点。

Currencies of oil-supplying countries stayed mostly under the cosh, with the Russian rouble hitting a record low against the dollar and the US currency rising 1 per cent versus the Norwegian krone. But the Canadian dollar held steady after the Bank of Canada surprised some in the markets by leaving interest rates unchanged.

产油国货币大多仍处于劣势，俄罗斯卢布兑美元汇率跌至历史新低，美元兑挪威克朗上升0.9%。但加元维持稳定，此前加拿大央行(Bank of Canada)维持利率不变，令部分市场人士感到意外。