Asian-Pacific stocks clobbered

Tokyo -- The Tokyo stock exchange nosedived Wednesday as the Nikkei index plunged more than 9 percent at close, dragging most other Asian markets with it.

The 225-stock Nikkei, the key Asian index, opened sharply lower, echoing Wall Street's 508-point rout the previous day, and never recovered through trading Wednesday. It ended the session down nearly 953 points, or 9.4 percent, at 9,203, for its lowest closing since June 2003.

Other big losers included Hong Kong's Hang Seng, another major Asian index, which plunged 1,372 points, or 8.2 percent, to 15,432 at close.
The Sydney exchange closed down 5 percent.

Markets in India and Indonesia also were hit hard. Other major Asian markets ended sharply lower.

The Dow Jones industrial average has lost nearly 900 points in the previous two sessions.

European stocks headed sharply lower after opening Wednesday.

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Copyright 2008 by United Press International.