A slide in Wall Street, involving fears over interest rates and reported Chinese cooling over US bonds, sent tremors around the world that an almost nine-year bull market in stocks was at an end.

ITC, Asia’s second-largest cigarette maker by value, plunged the most in 25 years after India surprised investors by raising levies on tobacco products.

UK bank Standard Chartered could be acquired by a white knight, because its recovery could prove to be “challenging”, according to broker CLSA, which upgraded shares of the Asia-focused lender on that possibility.

JAPAN’S disgraced Olympus Corp is suing its president and 18 other executives for up to $47 million (€37m) in compensation, as it struggles to recover from an embarrassing accounting scandals.