German shares lost on Monday, with the benchmark DAX index down 172.56 points, or 1.39 percent, to close at 12,217.02 points.

All 30 German blue chips lost, with the multinational chemical firm Linde lost the most, down by 3.42 percent.

It was followed by semiconductor manufacturer Infineon Technologies and chemical and consumer goods company Henkel, which lost 3.29 percent and 3.15 percent respectively.

German multinational chemical and pharmaceutical company Bayer was the most traded share of the day with a turnover of 286.46 million euros (352.60 million U.S. dollars).