The German blue-chip DAX 30 stocks index fell more than three percent in mid-morning trade on the Frankfurt stock exchange Tuesday, as investors fretted once again over the state of the flagging Chinese economy.

At around 0843 GMT, the DAX was showing a drop of 3.10 percent at 9,941.50 points, after opening 1.81 percent lower. The mid-cap MDAX was down 2.62 percent at 19,161.43 points.