Asian markets saw another volatile day of trading Thursday, one day after some major world benchmarks entered bear market territory thanks to concerns about plummeting oil prices and a slowing global economy.

Tokyo’s Nikkei index was down about 1.5 percent in afternoon trading, erasing gains made earlier in the day. Markets in Hong Kong and Shanghai were also down about 1.5 percent after opening higher.

The Nikkei and Britain’s benchmark FTSE 100 index on Wednesday both officially entered bear market territory, meaning they have lost 20 percent from recent highs.

Experts blame the global sell-off on investor pessimism over plunging oil prices, China’s economic slowdown, and a gloomy outlook for the overall global economy this year.

Crude oil prices, which have been falling since 2014, rose slightly in Asia Thursday. But concerns remain about an oversupply.

The price for U.S. crude oil this week fell to its lowest mark in 12 years, which hurt the stock prices of energy companies that are important parts of some stock indexes.

Wednesday saw a wild day of trading on Wall Street, as major indexes fell more than 3 percent at one point, before recovering significantly by the close. At the end of trading the S&P 500 was off 1.2 percent, while the Dow fell about 1.6 percent.
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