European markets closed sharply lower on Monday, despite paring some losses, amid a staggering selloff in stock markets around the world.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index pared some losses to finish down 5.3 percent, having sunk a massive 6.7 percent around the U.S. open.
London's FTSE 100 index and the German DAX ended the day off by around 4.6 percent and 5.0 percent respectively. The French CAC slipped around 5.6 percent, recovering from an earlier 7 percent drop in trade.
The worst hit among major European bourses was Greece, which closed down around 10.5 percent.
European markets
In Asian trading, China's benchmark Shanghai Composite index ended the day down 8.5 percent as panic about the country's economic issues spread.
U.S. stocks plummeted at the open on Monday, before sharply recovering losses, with the Dow Jones industrial average trading only 118 points lower after European markets had closed.
Last week, the benchmark Dow Jones Composite Average index lost around $338 billion in market value – which is roughly equivalent to the size of ExxonMobil, Berkshire Hathaway, or Microsoft.
Stocks to watch
The vast majority of the companies listed on the STOXX 600 closed lower on Monday.
Among the worst performers were energy stocks, after the price of crude oil sank to six-and-half year lows on concerns over global growth and the health of the Chinese economy.
Glencore, for instance, plunged to close 13 percent lower. Anglo American and Tullow Oil closed roughly 10 percent lower.
Around the European stock market close, Brent crude oil traded at around $43.70 per barrel, while U.S. light crude was just under $39.