World stock markets sank deep into the red on Tuesday, as China released data showing another hefty slump in exports, sparking renewed worries over the nation's powerhouse economy.

China's exports dived more than a quarter on-year in February, new data showed Tuesday, while imports were almost 14 percent off -- far worse than forecast.

Oil prices dipped in Asia Tuesday but Brent crude stayed above $40 a barrel, as traders took profits after solid gains over the past three weeks.

Prices have strengthened following talks of a production freeze, with a producers meeting mooted on March 20 in a bid to ease a global supply glut that has depressed the market.

German industrial production jumped unexpectedly in January, propelled by increased activity in the manufacturing and construction sectors, the economy ministry said on Tuesday. 

The ministry calculated that factory output -- a key yardstick for gauging the health of Europe's biggest economy -- leapt by 3.3 percent in January compared with a month earlier, corrected for seasonal factors.

The United States said Monday it is placing trade restrictions on Chinese telecommunications equipment giant ZTE due to violations of U.S. sanctions on Iran.

Bangladesh's central bank said Monday that part of almost $100 million allegedly stolen from a reserve account in the United States last month has been recovered.   

Eurozone finance ministers met Monday to defuse a bitter rift between top EU and IMF officials over how strictly to hold Greece to the ambitious reform commitments made as part of its bailout.

Emirati Oil Minister Suhail Mazrouei said Monday that current market prices are forcing most producers to freeze oil output levels, insisting it made "no sense" to pump more crude.

"Current prices are forcing everyone to freeze. So I think it is happening as we speak," Mazrouei told reporters in Abu Dhabi.

German industrial orders, a key measure of demand for goods in Europe's top economy, declined in January, weighed down by falling demand at home and in non-eurozone countries, the economy ministry said on Monday. 

Provisional official data showed a decrease in orders of 0.1 percent month-on-month in January, following a drop of 0.2 percent in December. 

A fragile calm in global financial markets has given way to all-out turbulence, the Bank of International Settlements said Sunday, warning of a "gathering storm" which has long been brewing.

German luxury carmaker BMW will throw a lavish 100th birthday party on Monday, looking back at its often troubled history and forward as it seeks to adapt to the age of "personal mobility."