LONDON, England - August 31, 2010 - Global stock markets fell on Tuesday as investors waited nervously for a slew of U.S. economic data this week.

Pessimism in Japan saw the Nikkei 225 tumble 325.20 points, or 3.5%, to close at 8,824.06, as investors worried about the impact of a U.S. slowdown on the strong yen and falling prices. Other major Asian markets also retreated.

The sell-off continued in Europe with Britain's FTSE 100 falling 1%, Germany's DAX losing 0.7% and CAC 40 in France sliding 1% just before lunch.

Wall Street opened lower as traders awaited a string of data that will provide an indication of the state of the U.S. economy. The Dow Jones fell 0.4% to 9.969.77 in opening trades, while the S&P 500 lost 0.4% and the NASDAQ 0.5%.

Mining and banking stocks were hit by fears that a slowing U.S. will hamper chances of a global recovery. In London, Barclays fell 2.8% and miner Lonmin 2.4%.

More U.S. economic data is due this week, particularly the closely watched monthly U.S. jobs report for August on Friday, which is also making equity investors cautious.

"This is a heavy week for U.S. economic data so markets are likely to be even more nervous," said Phil Gillett, a trader at Spreadex.