European Markets
London's FTSE 100 fell 0.7 per cent and the CAC 40 blue chip index in Paris dropped one per cent, while Frankfurt's electronically traded Xetra Dax lost 0.1 per cent.
The pan-European FTSE Eurotop 300, a broader index of the region's largest stocks, dropped 0.8 per cent.
DaimlerChrysler, the world's fifth largest automaker, lost 1.6 per cent. The company announced on Friday plans to cut 2,700 jobs at its Freighliner commercial truck business.
Nokia, the world's biggest mobile phone maker, fell two per cent. The Finnish company will report its earnings on Friday.
In Amsterdam, the AEX index was down 2.1 per cent and the SMI in Zurich dropped 0.9 per cent, while Milan's MIB30 index was off 0.8 per cent.
Asian Markets
The benchmark Nikkei 225 average was down 1.73 percent at midday, with the broader capital-weighted TOPIX index off 1.87 per cent.
Australia's benchmark S& P/ASX200 was down just over one per cent.
In Seoul, the Kospi fell just over 0.5 per cent, and in Taipei, the Taiex was off 1.87 per cent.
Advantest Corp, Japan's top maker of semiconductor testing devices, fell 8.83 per cent.
Tokyo Electron, a major manufacturer of chip-manufacturing equipment, dropped 5.05 per cent.
