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In contrast, Asian stocks posted modest gains on what started out as a quiet day. In the United States, markets were closed in observance of Memorial Day.

Even with Greece the main cause of concern in Europe, investors are keeping a wary eye on Spain, which is struggling to clear the bad loans in its banking sector after the collapse of the credit bubble. On Friday, the board of Bankia, the country’s biggest mortgage lender, called for additional bailout of 19 billion euros ($24 billion) for a total of 23.5 billion euros ($29.5 billion), far beyond what the government estimated when it seized most of the bank and its portfolio of delinquent real estate loans.

Bankia shares, suspended Friday, fell by nearly one-third in early trading before paring their losses to 15.3 percent in Madrid.

European stocks had risen earlier in the day, reacting to Greek opinion polls published over the weekend that suggested that parties favoring the country’s contested bailout agreement would be able to form a government after June 17 elections.

There is “relief in the markets given the opinion polls from Greece over the weekend,” Derek Halpenny, senior currency economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi U.F.J. in London, wrote in a research note.

European Union leaders had long said there was no chance of Greece leaving the euro, but they have now come to view that possibility as increasingly likely, as the June 17 election could bring a government that repudiates the country’s bailout agreements. That would set up an immediate crisis, because the government will run out of cash within weeks without new aid. The legal basis for any Greek exit is not clear, though, and it is possible that the country would muddle on as a euro member in some form.

On Monday, the Euro Stoxx 50 index, a barometer of euro zone blue chips, fell 0.7 percent, while the FTSE 100 index in London held on to a 0.1 percent gain. The Ibex 35 index in Madrid fell 2.2 percent.

Asian shares gained. The Tokyo benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average ticked up about 0.2 percent. The Sydney market index S.&P./ASX 200 rose about 1 percent. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index rose 0.5 percent.