Stocks in China took another plunge when markets opened Tuesday, falling more than 6 percent in early trading before making back some ground later in the morning.
Shares in Shanghai's index were down about 4 percent by mid-morning. In Japan, the Nikkei rebounded from its own drop of 4 percent at the open to rally to positive territory, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was up more than 2 percent.
On Monday, worries about China's faltering economic growth pushed down stock and oil prices around the world.
Shanghai's index dropped more than 8 percent Monday, while Japan's main market lost more than 4 percent and Hong Kong was down more than 5 percent.
In the U.S., stock markets plunged in early trading and saw a wild swing in prices throughout the day before closing down at least 3.6 percent.
Key European indexes were off 4 percent or more. India's Sensex dropped 5 percent, its steepest drop in six years.
Prices for many commodities also declined, with the price of crude oil off by more than 4 percent to hit the lowest price in more than six years.
China's growing economy has been a major market for commodities and all kinds of goods for many years.
A series of economic shocks, including a falling stock market and a surprise devaluation of the currency, have made investors question the health and growth of the world's second-largest economy. An economy that grows slowly will need less energy and provide less opportunity for investors in many areas.
7 days of losses in Asia-Pacific
Monday marked the seventh straight day of losses on key Asia-Pacific market indices, down almost 5 percent, the most since 2011.
I guess the question that people are starting to ask and certainly Im asking is how, just how this gets stemmed, said Sydney-based senior foreign exchange strategist for ANZ Bank, Daniel Bean.
Singapore-based Daniel Martin, senior Asia economist for research firm Capital Markets, says China's economy is more stable than many investors realize.
The equity market side; if it is a reflection of Chinas economy doing a lot worse than we have previously thought, then thats obviously a big issue for Asian economies. We dont actually think thats the case though. We see it more as a stock market correction that will run its course and should settle down within the next few weeks or so, he said, adding I dont think theyre panicking that the economy is suddenly falling off a cliff, which markets seem to be thinking it is.