Wall Street's main indexes nosedived on Monday, as fears of the United States tipping into recession following weak economic data last week rippled through global markets.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Index plunged more than 1,100 points after the opening bell, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell nearly 5% after entering correction territory last week.

The declines followed broad sell-offs overseas, with the Tokyo-based Nikkei index suffering its worst single-day retreat since the infamous "Black Monday" crash of 1987 — closing 12.4% lower — while European stocks fell to near six-month lows.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index dropped 2.2% at 486.79 points, its lowest since Feb. 13.