Washington - US stock indices continued their downward spiral at the start of a new week Monday, led by a drop in energy and metals producers.

The price of oil fell to its lowest point since May 2007, sparking fresh concerns that a potential global recession will depress demand for commodities. Crude oil for December delivery dropped 1.4 per cent to 63.22 dollars per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 203.18 points, or 2.42 per cent, to 8,175.77. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 lost 27.85 points, or 3.18 per cent, to 848.92. The technology heavy Nasdaq Composite Index fell 46.13 points, or 2.97 per cent, to 1,505.90.

Frankfurt - Rare Volkswagen shares commanded giddying prices Monday on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange after Porsche announced it was within sight of 
75-per-cent control of Europe's biggest carmaker.

The stock spiked 200 per cent before settling to 520 euros at the close of electronic trading, up 146 per cent from Friday.

Analysts said it was not luxury car-maker Porsche that was paying the high price, but short sellers who had expected the stock to fall in value and suddenly needed to settle contracts.

Paris - Despite a steady early session on Wall Street, French shares began the week with another weak performance on Monday, with banking shares leading the decline.

The Paris Bourse's CAC blue-chip index ended the day off by 3.96 per cent, at 3,067.35, with declining issues outnumbering winners by about 12 to 1.

Jakarta - Indonesian stock

Frankfurt  - European shares opened sharply down Monday after a steep fall in stocks across Asia signalled another tumultuous week on global bourses.

After a wave of panic selling in Asia's stock markets, Europe's blue-chip Stoxx 50 slumped by 5.9 per cent in early trading to 1,994 points as recession fears deepen.

This came in the wake of big falls in opening trade across Europe's national bourses with London sliding more than 5 per cent, Paris' CAC 40 index cascading down by nearly 6 per cent and Frankfurt's key DAX dropping by 5 per cent.

London - The Financial Times Share Index opened 100 points down at 3,883.36 points in London Monday, taking its lead from sharp falls on Asian markets.