Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said the path to global recovery was narrower than it was three years ago and called for urgent action.
Meanwhile, president of the World Bank, Robert Zoellick, said the world's economy was "in a danger zone" and that Europe, Japan, and the US must act to address their economic issues before they become bigger problems for the rest of the world.
At 15:30 GMT, the UK's FTSE 100 had closed 4.79% down, Germany's DAX had closed down by 5.15% and the CAC 40 in France had fallen 4.59%, as traders cut their exposure to equities and instead looked to invest in less-risky assets.
On Wednesday, the US Federal Reserve (Fed) - after painting a grim outlook for the nation's economy - had also failed to win over investor confidence after announcing steps designed to lower long-term US interest rates and stimulate lending and growth.
The Dow Jones Euro Stoxx Chemicals index at closing on Thursday was trading down by 4.59%, as shares in many of Europe's major chemical companies fell.
Top European producers were hit hard-petrochemical major BASF's shares had dropped 5.08%, while fellow Germany-based Bayer had fallen 4.65%. Dutch coatings firm AkzoNobel was down 4.53%, and France’s Arkema had fallen steeply by 8.12%.
Belgium's Solvay had fallen sharply by 6.91%, France-based industrial gases company Air Liquide was down 3.30%, while Germany's Linde was down 3.43%. Catalysts maker and precious metals trader Johnson Matthey of the UK was down by 3.66% and Swiss specialties maker Clariant was trading down by 8.30%.
Markets also continue to be spooked by economic uncertainty in the eurozone amid fears over Italian and Spanish debt and unrest in Greece, which is being hit by a 24-hour public transport strike and a mass protest of public sector workers after the government toughened its austerity measures by cutting pensions further and suspending more civil servant posts.
Asian petrochemical shares also dropped on Thursday with Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index ending 2.07% down at closing. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng exchange fell by 4.85%, while the Seoul Composite Stock Price Index ended down 2.90%.
Meanwhile, north American chemical stocks fell sharply on Thursday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) plummeted by nearly 324 points, continuing a rout that started on Wednesday. The index fell by 2.91% to reach 10,801.15 at 10:56 New York time (14:56 GMT).
