(Yicai Global) May 14 -- Chinese mainland equities joined the spreading trend of market routs that started from the US. 

 The Shanghai Composite Index started trading 1.1 percent lower at 2872.83. The Shenzhen Component Index opened 1.2 percent lower at 8998.97. The ChiNext Index fell 0.7 percent to 1492.90. The sectors of quantum communications, oil, and hydrogen energy led the declines. However, losses started narrowing a few minutes after the opening bell rang.

US stocks fell sharply last night, with three major indexes posting their biggest single-day losses since January. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 2.4 percent to 25,324.99. The S&P 500 also fell 2.4 percent to 2,811.87. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 3.4 percent to 7,647.02.

Besides China, other Asian markets were also looking cloudy. Japan's Nikkei 225 opened 2 percent down at 20768.00, hitting its lowest level since mid-February. South Korea's KOSPI Index began the day 0.9 percent lower at 2,060.24.