Asian markets tumbled again on Friday amid renewed fears that the global economy may slip into recession.
Worries about the health of European banks and a fall in manufacturing activity in America prompted large falls in European and US stock markets.
By the time the markets closed in South Korea, shares had plunged 6.2% - the biggest fall there since the global financial crisis of 2008.
The benchmark KOSPI plunged 115.70 points at 1,744.88, led by shipbuilders and chemicals.
Japan's Nikkei index was down 2.51% to hit a fresh five-month low, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended down 3.1%.
In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index fell 149.3 points, or 3.51%.
New Zealand's benchmark NZX50 index fell 1.5% on Friday morning, but regained some ground in the afternoon and ended the day 18 points, or 0.56%, lower at 3268 on turnover of $110 million.
Top stock were mixed. Fletcher Building was down 15 cents to $7.79, Telecom gained 11.5 cents to $2.72, while Contact Energy was unchanged at $5.02.
The New Zealand dollar held steady against its US counterpart. At 5.20pm on Friday, it was buying US82.17 cents, 79.27 Australian, 49.87 pence, 62.87 Yen and 0.5744 euro. The Trade Weighted Index stood at 70.76.
Wall Street dives
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Index had plunged 420 points (3.7%) to close at 10,990 on Thursday. The Nasdaq Composite fell 131 points (5.2%) to 2380.
European shares also fell heavily, with bank stocks taking a battering. London's FTSE 100 index ended the day down 4.5% while Germany's DAX lost 5.8%.
Analysts again cited reasons including worries about global growth and the euro zone debt crisis, the BBC reports.
Investors deserted riskier assets and sought out havens for their cash. The spot price of gold hit yet another record high of $US1826 an ounce.
