Many of Asia's and Europe's top share indexes have fallen sharply on Tuesday amid fears of a recession in the US leading to a global economic slowdown.

London's FTSE 100 index has had a bumpy day, dropping more than 3% at the open. It has since recovered and was recently trading between 1% higher and 1% lower.

Earlier, Asian markets had tumbled with Japan's Nikkei index closing down 5.7%, taking its decline this year to 18%.

Many analysts are predicting indexes will remain volatile in coming weeks.

"I think we can safely say that the stomping, snorting optimistic beast of a market is fleeing the field, to be replaced by something scary and grizzly," said BBC Business Editor Robert Peston.

"But volatility is the order of the day. In London, there has been a stunning bounce, which could yet turn out to be ephemeral.

"Having worked at assorted times on trading floors, I can smell the adrenalin, testosterone and fear that is creating this mayhem," he said.

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