New York, Aug 24 (IANS): US stocks opened sharply lower on Monday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average sliding below 16,000 for the first time since February 2014, as a rout in global markets continued to intensify.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 829.79 points (5.04 percent), to 15,629.96. The S&P 500 dropped 91.72 points (4.65 percent), to 1,879.17. The Nasdaq Composite Index dived 283.27 points (6.02 percent), to 4,422.77, Xinhua reported.

The Chinese stock markets had their worst day in eight years with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index tumbling 8.49 percent to close at 3209.91 points.

It has been reported that weak economic data has fuelled worries that a drop-off in Chinese growth could cause a global slowdown.

European equities also dived on Monday following previous session's deep decline, as the Stoxx Europe 600 was down over 6 percent and Germany's DAX fell 4 percent.

US stocks saw a heavy fall on Friday, with the Dow nosediving more than 500 points, as a broad-based heavy sell-off in global stock markets weighed on U.S. market.

The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, soared 46.45 percent to end at 28.03 Friday.