The United States, China, Europe and the UK all released their key manufacturing indexes on Monday, and together they painted a dire picture of global economic activity.

The U.S. manufacturing sector dipped below market expectations in November, according to the ISM manufacturing survey. The survey's 36.2 reading was below the consensus forecast of 37.0, marking the lowest reading since 1982.

China's manufacturing PMI fell at a record pace as it dropped to 38.8 from 44.6 in November. The final euro zone manufacturing PMI was revised down to a record low of 35.6 in November versus the preliminary 36.2 reading. The UK manufacturing PMI fell to a record low of 34.4 in November from 40.7 in October. The consensus was for a 39.7 reading.

Toronto's S&P/TSX composite index is down 752 points to 8519, the Dow Jones industrial average is down 453 points to 8376, the S&P 500 is down 55 points to 842 and the Nasdaq is down 94 points to 1441.

European stock markets closed with the Eurostoxx down 129 points to 2030, the UK FTSE 100 down 223 points to 4065 and the German DAX down 275 points to 4395.

"Equity markets have turned sharply lower this morning. While early trading suggested that some profit-taking may be occurring following last week's rally, selling pressure appears to have intensified following the release of weak U.S. economic data," said Colin Cieszynski, market analyst at CMC Markets.

Crude oil is down nearly $5 on Monday after OPEC failed to deliver a rumoured production cut at a weekend meeting in Cairo.

Most recently, WTI crude traded at the Intercontinental Exchange was down $4.28 to $50.15 per barrel.

"There was some buying before the weekend because no one knew what OPEC was going to do," said Mike Fitzpatrick, vice-president of energy risk management at MF Global.

In foreign exchange, the Canadian dollar is one of the strongest performing currencies following a stronger-than-expected GDP report.

The economy expanded at a 1.3% annualized pace in the third quarter, better than the 1.1% expected. Second-quarter growth was upwardly revised to +0.6% from +0.3%.

C.J. Gavsie, managing director of corporate and institutional sales for FX products from BMO Capital Markets, said everything today is pointing to a weaker Canadian dollar. But some M&A deals, which are closing this week, could be stopping a sharp sell-off.

"We are strong believers that we should see a weaker CAD," he said.

The Canadian dollar is up 0.0015 to 0.8086 against the U.S. dollar (1.2366 USD/CAD) and down 1.80 to 75.28 against the yen.

The U.S. dollar is down 2.42 to 93.11 against the yen and the Dollar Index is up 0.407 to 86.924.

The euro is down 0.0061 to 1.2629 against the U.S. dollar, down 0.0107 to 1.5620 against the Canadian dollar, up 0.0248 to 0.8503 against the pound sterling and is lower by 3.64 to 117.58 against the yen.

The pound sterling is down 0.0521 to 1.4853 against the U.S. dollar and down 0.0680 to 1.8372 against the Canadian dollar.

The front month gold contract at the Chicago Board of Trade is down $43.90 to $773.20 per ounce.

In fixed income, risk aversion had led to a broad flight to quality.

U.S. two-year yields are down 7.9 bps to 0.90%, with five-year yields down 11.8 bps to 1.80%, 10-year yields down 10.3 bps to 2.82% and 30-year yields down 10.3 bps to 3.33%. The Eurodollar March 09 contract is up 6.5 ticks to 98.15. The yield curve is flatter, with the 10/2-year spread down 2.4 bps to 191.26 bps.

Yields on two-year Canadian government bonds are down 7.2 bps to 1.63%, with five-year yields down 9.1 bps to 2.35%, 10-year yields down 10.4 bps to 3.22% and 30-year yields down 8.5 bps to 3.82%. The December 08 BAX contract is flat at 98.13.

In Germany, returns on two-year German bonds are down 6.8 bps to 2.12%, with five-year yields down 13.3 bps to 2.52%, 10-year yields down 9.8 bps to 3.16% and 30-year yields down 6.8 bps to 3.65%.

Yields on UK two-year bonds are down 19.3 bps to 2.01%, with five-year yields down 15.1 bps to 3.05%, 10-year yields down 11.4 bps to 3.65% and 30-year yields down 4.8 bps to 4.07%.

All data taken at 12:54 p.m. EST.

By Adam Button, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it , edited by Nancy Girgis, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

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