World stock indexes plunged for a second straight day Tuesday as worries about a Greek debt default continued to roil financial markets.

In the United States, all three major stock indexes fell sharply in early trading. The bellwether Dow Jones Industrial Average of 30 key stocks slid 1.5 percent in early trading. The broader S&P 500 is down 1.4 percent and the technology-laden NASDAQ is off eight-tenths of a percent.

Stocks plummeted in afternoon trading in Europe.

Both London's Financial Times index and the CAC-40 in Paris are down 2.7 percent, while the DAX index in Frankfurt is down 3.3 percent.

In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei index lost 1.1 percent to finish at 8,456.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 3.4 percent to finish the day's trading at 16,250.

Gold is trading down $12.36 at $1,645.94 an ounce.

The dollar is higher against the yen, but down against the euro.