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(Bloomberg) — Index futures signaled a deepening slump in the world’s biggest stock market after U.S. equities ended last week down the most in almost four years.

Contracts on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slid 0.5 percent to 1,961.50 as of 10:42 a.m. in Sydney on Monday, after losing as much as 1.1 percent. The underlying measure sank 3.2 percent Friday to cap its largest daily and weekly drops since 2011. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 0.7 percent, while those on the Nasdaq 100 Index fell 0.8 percent.
Calm in the U.S. market shattered last week, with volatility soaring by the most on record as the Dow entered a correction and investors dumped the biggest winners of 2015. Shares succumbed to a global selloff that’s wiped more than $5 trillion off the value of equities around the world since China’s shock currency devaluation on Aug. 11.

“Futures are already showing people are wanting to get out, again,” said Chris Weston, Melbourne-based chief market strategist at IG Ltd. “All the technicals and momentum suggest that you’ve got to be staying cautious.”
The S&P 500 closed last week at 1,970.89, down 7.5 percent from its last record in May, after dropping out of a trading range that supported it for most of the year.

Before last week, U.S. equities had held their ground throughout 2015, weathering turmoil from Greece and headwinds including a strong dollar that curbed multinationals’ earnings and a more than 60 percent drop in oil prices.
The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, the benchmark gauge of equity options, more than doubled during the week for its largest gain ever amid demand for contracts to protect against further losses. It is at the highest level since 2011.

Global Losses

A Chinese manufacturing gauge released Friday showed the weakest reading since the global financial crisis, accelerating losses in riskier assets.

Middle Eastern shares suffered their worst day this year on Sunday. The selloff in Asian stocks deepened in early Monday trading, with Japan’s Topix index down 2.6 percent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index falling the most in two years.
“It’s going to be another week of knashing of teeth and extreme anxiety,” David Mann, Standard Chartered chief Asia economist, told Bloomberg TV in Singapore. “It’s hard to see what exact thing could turn things around.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Adam Haigh in Sydney at ahaigh1@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sarah McDonald at smcdonald23@bloomberg.net Jim McDonald