European stocks fell sharply at the start of Monday's session, as global volatility continued amid fears of an imminent economic recession in the United States.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 2.51% in early trading, with all sectors and major regional bourses in the red, according to CNBC.
The financial sector was the biggest loser in today's trading, with banking shares losing 4.2%, the financial services sector falling 3.6%, and the technology sector falling 5%.
Meanwhile, OSI Global jumped 7.3% after Zed Side Energy said it would acquire the Dutch chemicals maker's clean ammonia project in Texas for $2.35 billion.
The lower opening of major European markets came amid broader global volatility.
U.S. stock futures fell after a turbulent week on Wall Street, with the Nasdaq Composite Index correcting.
Asia-Pacific markets also continued to sell off in early trade, with Japan's main index losing about 10% and Tokyo halting trading twice due to the heavy drop.
European markets are awaiting the release of services PMI data from the UK, Italy and Spain.
The European index witnessed its worst week in nearly 10 months at the end of trading last Friday, and fell below the 500-point level for the first time since April 15.
