By Ese Erheriene, Matthew Cowley and Ira Iosebashvili 

Fresh worries about the pace of Chinese growth drove down financial markets from U.S. stocks to cotton and copper prices.

Fueling the declines were comments by Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei, who said no change in economic policies was imminent despite recent indicators of relatively weak growth.

Mr. Lou's remarks fanned concerns that China won't meet its full-year economic-growth target of 7.5%. That rattled commodities markets, where booming demand from China has kept supplies tight and prices high. Currencies from commodity-exporting countries, including the Australian dollar and Brazilian real, also fell, while U.S. stocks sank.

Metals were among the hardest-hit sectors on Monday. China is by far the biggest source of demand for industrial metals such as copper, nickel and zinc. In addition, miners had raised production in the last decade to meet rapidly expanding Chinese demand, so even a slight drop in the rate of growth could leave the market with extra supply.

Investors in many markets recently had placed bullish bets despite uneven data out of China, anticipating that policy makers would spring into action at the first sign the economy was flagging.

"The comment sent shock waves through the markets, and understandably so, " said Michael Turek, head of metals at Newedge. "All eyes are turned to China at the moment."

HSBC Holdings PLC was scheduled early Tuesday in China to report its reading of the purchasing managers index for September, a key measure of the country's manufacturing sector. Many analysts expect the PMI to fall below 50, signaling contraction.

The finance minister's comments raised doubts among some money managers about the global growth outlook ahead of the PMI data, which hit stocks and gave a boost to bonds.

In metals, nickel prices fell 4.2% to close at $17,025 a metric ton. Zinc declined 1.5% to $2,240 a metric ton. Copper dropped 1.6% to $3.038 a pound.

Other commodities fell as well, with Brent crude-oil futures closing down 1.4%, near their lowest level since June 2012. Cotton prices ended at nearly a five-year low after a Chinese official said the country would sharply cut import quotas for textile mills next year.

In April, China introduced stimulus targeting certain parts of the economy, including commodity-heavy sectors like housing.

However, aid to large banks announced last week isn't likely to have as big an impact on the real economy, analysts say.

That, plus Mr. Lou's comments, has caused more investors to come around to the view that commodities markets won't be able to count on support from China's government. Instead, China's government has said it wants to address distortions in its economy, moving away from an export-driven model toward greater domestic consumption.

"I think it's quite a surprise that they haven't done any more on the loosening side but this is pretty much what they've been telling us," said Joseph Murphy, a commodities analyst at Hermes Investment Management, which manages $400 million in commodities assets and advises on a further $1 billion. "It's come as a surprise to the market because I think they were expecting more."

In addition to the concerns about China, the strength of the dollar has been weighing on metals prices. Contracts are mostly dollar-denominated and prices typically fall when the greenback gains, which has been the case in recent weeks as markets prepare for the U.S. Federal Reserve to begin raising interest rates. A wider difference in interest rates between the U.S. and its trading partners typically strengthens the dollar.

Some investors see the slide in metal prices as temporary. Demand still is widely expected to outpace new supply for some metals, including zinc. That should limit losses, said Catherine Raw, a fund manager at BlackRock.

"A stronger U.S. dollar has taken the shine off these metals and led to a selloff for now, but the underlying issues remain and we would expect the market to start focusing on a lack of future copper and zinc supply growth as we move into 2015," Ms. Raw said.

Still, the lack of response from China's government to mounting anxiety about the economy has spooked commodities markets.

"Up until now, the market has not appeared to grasp how resolute the Chinese authorities are," said Sameer Samana, of Wells Fargo Advisors, which oversees $1.4 trillion.

Although he believes China's growth will slow as a result of the reforms, Mr. Samana raised his funds exposure to commodities earlier this month, expecting growth in the U.S. and Europe will take the edge off cooling Chinese demand. "There is some floor, not far from here," he said.

   -- China Boosts Efforts to Clean Up Banks (Aug. 17, 2014) 
 
   -- Chinese Investors Stock Up on Bonds (July 10, 2014) 
 
   -- New Fount of Credit Raises Alarm (May 1, 2014) 
 
   -- With Yuan Scarce, Firms Get Stuck With IOUs (April 3, 2014) 
 
   -- China Tries Allowing Defaults (March 25, 2014) 
 
   -- Loan Sharks Smell Blood in China Waters (Dec. 29, 2013) 
 
   -- Debt Binge Threatens China Growth (Aug. 26, 2013) 
 
   -- The 'Rock Star' Analyst of Chinese Debt (Aug. 22, 2013) 
 
   -- Banks Work Around China's Lending Limits (Aug. 19, 2013) 
 
   -- Critics See Risk in Links Between China's Banks, Bonds (Aug. 16, 2013) 
 
   -- Banks Feel Strains After Credit Binge (Aug. 15, 2013) 

Write to Ese Erheriene at ese.erheriene@wsj.com and Matthew Cowley at matthew.cowley@wsj.com

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