FRANKFURT - German share prices tumbled more than 3.0% at the start of trade on Monday, the first day of business in 2016, with investor sentiment soured by losses in Asian stock markets earlier.
German share prices have tumbled more than 3% at the start of trade on the first day of business in 2016.
The blue-chip DAX 30 stock index opened 2.39% lower at 10,485.81 points, but subsequently tumbled 3.8% to an intraday low of 10,337.84 points.
The mid-cap MDAX index was also down sharply, shedding 2.95% to 20,162.52 points.
In Asia, trading on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges was ended early after shares slumped seven percent, the first time China's new "circuit breaker" intervened to curb market volatility.
The heavy falls followed poor data from official and private surveys of manufacturing in the world's second-largest economy. In addition, measures introduced to curb China's mid-2015 share slump are about to expire.