European stocks finished sharply lower on Monday, tracking a global selloff in equities that picked up speed on Friday, after a better-than-expected U.S. jobs report stoked fears about rising inflation and higher interest rates.

U.S. stocks tumbled Monday, with the Dow recording its worst one-day point drop in history, in a selloff that at times took on the characteristics of a panic. The Dow was down more than 1,500 points at its session low, while the S&P 500 logged its first 5% pullback from its all-time high in over a year.

Japan's Nikkei index nosedived more than 6.5% on Tuesday, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng plummeted nearly 5%. Those sharp falls came after a brutal trading session in U.S. markets on Monday. The Dow closed down 1,175 points, or 4.6%. It was by far the index's biggest ever point decline for a single trading day.