European and U.S. stock indexes retreated sharply Wednesday, giving back big gains from the day before.

In afternoon trading in the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 3.3 percent, with the broader S&P 500 down 3.1 percent. The NASDAQ fell 2.9 percent.

European stock indexes ended lower on continued worries about the debt woes faced by governments on the continent.

London's Financial Times index closed down 3.1 percent to end at 5,007. The CAC-40 in Paris fell 5.5 percent to finish the day's trading at 3,003. The DAX index in Frankfurt dropped 5.1 percent to close at 5,613.

In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei index gained 1.1 percent to finish at 9,039.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index soared 2.3 percent to finish the day's trading at 19,784.

Gold is trading up $38.83 at $1,779.78 an ounce.

The dollar is trading lower against the yen, but up against the euro.