The Financial World Overnight

China's decision to raise required bank reserves impacted Pacific Rim markets.

Overnight, the FTSE Asia-Pacific index dropped 1.5 per cent. The Shanghai Composite, China’s benchmark, fell 3.1 per cent to 3,173 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 2.6 per cent to 21,749 as property and banking shares suffered.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.6 per cent to 4,868, with mining groups hit on worries that China may demand fewer metals. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo fell 1.3 per cent.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 rose 0.1 per cent to 1,055, while the FTSE 100 in London lost 0.3 per cent to 5,484.

In currencies, the dollar was down a bit by 0.3 to 76.79 on a trade-weighted basis and off 0.4 per cent against the euro to $1.4535. The yen corrected from its sharp advance on Tuesday, dipping 0.4 per cent versus the dollar to Y91.34.

Gold climbed 0.3 per cent to $1,131 an ounce. Oil fell 1.1 per cent to $79.90.