China's major stock indices dropped by more than 3 percent in Tuesday's afternoon session.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 3.35 percent to close at just above three-thousand three-hundred points, while the Shenzhen Component Index lost 4.23 percent to above ten-thousand points. The ChiNext Index, which tracks China's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, lost 5.34 percent. Shares in sectors such as aviation, telecoms and agriculture are among the most affected. Analysts say the drops were triggered by the declines in overseas stock markets. US stocks closed sharply lower on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunging more than 1,100 points -- the worst day for the stock market in six and a half years.