(Yicai Global) Jan. 29 -- China's stock markets  extended losses this morning as concerns over a possible global economic  slowdown prey on the minds of investors.

The major market indexes were down more than one  percent at one point although the efforts of bargain-hunter saved the  market from further downward movement.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.5  percent at 2,583.94 points at the lunch break, and it had gone as low  as 2,559.98 earlier. The Shenzhen Component Index closed down 0.86  percent at 7,524.48 for lunch. Small-cap technology-related stocks were  hit the hardest with Shenzhen's ChiNext Price Index down 1.34 percent at  1,242.83.

Elsewhere in major Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei  Stock Average tumbled 0.97 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was  down 0.58 percent at noon.

This new wave of selling started yesterday in major  western markets, with worldwide economic concerns a dominant factor. US  stocks fell as several major firms such as  Caterpillar and Nvidia  posted disappointing financial data, many of which cited weaknesses in  the Chinese market as a key factor.