Markets in Asia and Europe slumped across the board Tuesday, following the latest round of disappointing economic news, reported CNN.
A man monitors trade on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday in New York.
Europe's most influential markets -- in London, Paris and Frankfurt -- were down 1 to 2 percent an hour into the trading day.
Japan's Nikkei index dropped 3 percent, with Australia's All Ordinaries index off 3.4 percent.
The results were similar in Seoul, where the KOSPI fell about 2 percent, while Singapore's Straits Times index was down 4.2 percent.
Global stock markets had rallied Monday after China unveiled a $586 billion stimulus package that investors hoped would help the world economy stave off a deep recession.
Recession worries trumped China's stimulus plan in the United States, where stocks slumped in trading Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.8 percent, the Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 1.3 percent and the Nasdaq composite shed 1.9 percent.
Bad company news fueled the drop -- Circuit City filed for bankruptcy, package delivery firm DHL announced 9,500 layoffs as it ends air and ground operations in the United States and Starbucks reported lower earnings than expected.
The U.S. Labor Department said that 1.2 million jobs had been eliminated in 2008 in the United States.
But global markets ended on positive notes Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 was up by 5.8 percent while European markets posted smaller gains.
The dollar gained against the euro and fell versus the yen.
COMEX gold for December delivery rallied $11.40 to settle at $745.60 an ounce.
U.S. light crude oil for December delivery gained $1.37 to settle at $62.41 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Gasoline prices fell another 1.9 cents to a national average of $2.24 a gallon, according to a survey of credit-card activity released Monday by motorist group AAA. The decline marks the 54th consecutive day that prices have decreased. During that same time period, prices dropped by $1.61 a gallon, or 41.9 percent.