China shares sink most since 2016 as 1,000 stocks fall by daily limit

Even for the world’s worst-performing stock markets, Thursday’s losses were extreme.

China’s benchmark equity gauge closed 5.2 percent lower, the biggest loss since February 2016, as a global sell-off spread. More than 1,000 stocks fell by the daily limit, or more than one in four. The Shanghai Composite Index ended below 2,600, a level not even breached during market crashes in 2015 and 2016.

Hong Kong didn’t fare much better, with the Hang Seng Index dropping 3.5 percent , the biggest in eight months. Tencent Holdings Ltd., the most valuable stock listed in Asia, slid 6.8 percent to extend a