Investors say it is too early to predict when the slide will end

US losses were less severe, though all three main stock indexes closed lower.

Commodities also felt the squeeze, with the cost of crude oil down in London and New York, and metals prices dropping on fears of a price bubble.

Analysts said it was difficult to tell when the declines, triggered by a slump in the US dollar last week, will end.

Linus Yip, a strategist at First Shanghai Securities, said that any bad news would reinforce the downward cycle.

"We have to be cautious," he explained.

Christopher Bellew of Bache Financial in London said that Monday's slide was "a continuation of the bubble-bursting in commodities and energy markets last week."

Broad sell-off

In the US the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 18.73 points, or 0.17%, to close at 11,125.33. The tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 1% to close at 2,172.86. And the broader S&P 500 was down 0.39% to finish at 1,262.07.

Earlier, the major European markets had also closed down on Monday, with Germany's Dax index down 2.22% and France's Cac down 2.6%. The falls came after a fluctuating day for European stocks.

And weaker metals prices pushed London's FTSE 100 index 2.2% lower at close as mining firm Antofagasta shed 7.85%.

In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed 1.8% lower at 15,857.87, ending the session below 16,000 for the first time in two months.

The index's biggest fallers included oil group Inpex Holdings, down 5.3%, and Japan Energy owner Nippon Mining, falling 8%.

In India, the Bombay Stock Exchange's benchmark 30-share Sensex index was trading 436.27 points, or 4%, lower at 10,398.05 after trading was suspended for an hour.

Earlier it had lost more 1,000 points, its biggest intra-day drop, amid heavy selling by domestic and foreign funds.

Crude oil prices slipped by about $1 on Monday, amid worries that slower economic growth would limit demand.

Commodities fared little better, with Shanghai aluminium futures down 4%, the most they can fall in a single day.