Even as the first three weeks of China's stock slump wiped out US$3.2 trillion in value, developments in the Greece crisis and the Federal Reserve's latest prognostications took centre stage for many asset managers. That's changing as the deepening rout forces investors to weigh what the losses mean for the global growth outlook.
"Chinese equities are transitioning from a period where we've had weak economic growth and a very strong equity market, to an equity market which is looking for confirmation of economic strength," said Stephen Corry, Hong Kong-based chief investment strategist at the private-bank unit of LGT Group, which oversees about $136 billion. "It has failed to materialise so far. The selloff is therefore an indication that investors have lost confidence in policymakers' ability to reflate the economy.