Stocks were down in the United States on Tuesday, as commodity shares fell on fears of a global recession.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 231.77 points, or 2.5%, to 9,033.66 in volatile trading.
Standard & Poor's 500 Index shed 30.35 points, or 3.08%, to 955.05. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 73.35 points, or 4.14%, to 1,696.68.
Trading was low on the New York Stock Exchange: about 1.16 billion shares changed hands - below last year's estimated daily average of roughly 1.90 billion. About 2.15 billion shares were traded on the Nasdaq - below last year's daily average of 2.17 billion.
Stocks were also lower in Europe. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares ended down 0.47% at 923.93 points. The index is down almost 40% to date this year.
In Paris, the CAC 40 gained 0.78% to 3,474.40. In Frankfurt, the Dax lost 1.05% to end the session at 4,784.41.
The Swiss market closed at 6,185.48 points, down 30.98 or 0.5%. In Milan, the All Share Mibtel index closed at 16,810 points, down 159 or 0.94%.
In London, the FTSE 100 ended down 52.9 points, 1.2% at 4,229.7. The index is down 34.5% to date this year.
Other markets
Earlier in Tokyo, the Nikkei average rose 3.34% for a third day. The Nikkei gained 300.66 points to 9,306.25.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index closed 281.84 points lower at 15,041.17 after opening 1.9% higher.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index closed up 160.2 points at 4,302.5.
Meanwhile, the European Central Bank says it will put about 400 billion euros into eurozone money markets in the coming days, to get cash flowing in the financial system.
