Equities across the globe were undermined on Monday by losses in mainland China after a near 3 per cent drop on the Shanghai exchange triggered fresh commodity losses. As many markets reopened following the Christmas weekend break, China’s Shanghai Composite fell 2.6 per cent after weak industrial profit data for November dashed hopes of an end-of-year rally. The data, released on Sunday, showed profits earned by Chinese industrial companies fell 1.4 per cent last month — a sixth-consecutive month of year-on-year declines. More than a third of the losses on the Shanghai index came from the financial sector, while a fifth were from the industrial sector. The index’s 2.6 per cent loss was the biggest daily decline since the 5.5 per cent rout seen on November 27. Fears of a fresh bout of capital outflows hit the renminbi, which had just enjoyed a six-session winning streak. China’s currency fell to a four-and-a-half year low against the dollar, down 0.2 per cent to Rmb6.4871.