AKIPRESS.COM - Stocks fell on Tuesday, with European markets buckling under heavy selling pressure carried over from Asia after Chinese shares slumped 6 percent and emerging market currencies and oil prices remained anchored at historic lows.

A broad measure of Asian stocks fell to its lowest in two years and U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street SPc1, reports Reuters.

"European equity markets are taking their cues from China, and traders' suspicion is that the second largest economy in the world is heading for a hard landing," said David Madden, market commentator at IG in London.

"The more the Chinese government intervenes, the more traders want to dump stock and head for the exit. The mood in London is that the party is over in China."

With the Federal Reserve also seemingly close to raising U.S. interest rates, developed stock markets struggled to stay out of the red.

The FTSEuroFirst index of 300 leading shares fell 0.3 percent in early trading .FTEU3, Germany's .GDAXI fell a quarter of a percent and France's CAC 40 .FCHI was down a third of a percent. Britain's FTSE 100 slipped 0.2 percent .FTSE.

Earlier, China's main Shanghai Composite and Shenzhen 300 indices both lost 6.2 percent .SSEC .CSI300 as investors drew in their horns and bet that demand in China will cool further, weighing on the trade-reliant region.

The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS fell 1 percent to its lowest since August 2013. Japan's Nikkei .N225 dipped 0.3 percent.

Thai shares .SET hit a 1-1/2-year low and the baht fell to six-year low after a bomb blast in Bangkok on Monday killed 19 people, including three foreign tourists.