Tokyo - Asian stocks, led by Tokyo and Seoul, plummeted for a third-straight day Friday on fears of a worldwide recession, defying an overnight rise on Wall Street.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost nearly 10 per cent of its value, tumbling below 8,000 for the first time since May 2003, on indications the global financial crisis was beginning to hit the nation's exporters.

The Nikkei shed 811.9 points, or 9.6 per cent, to close at 7,649.08. The broader Topix index of all first-section issues plunged 7.52 per cent to 806.11.

The tumble was led by Sony Corp, whose shares plunged 14 per cent one day after the world's second-largest electronics company warned its profits this year were expected to drop nearly 60 per cent compared with last year.

The fall came in spite of an overnight rise on Wall Street, where the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.02 per cent, the broader Standard and Poor's 500 was up 1.26 per cent, but the high-tech Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.73 per cent.

South Korea's benchmark Kospi index plunged 10.57 per cent, dropping below 1,000, its lowest level since May 2005, as foreign investors continued to sell stocks in emerging markets.

The Kospi closed at 938.75, ending its worst week in more than 20 years as it slid 20 per cent.

Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index slumped 8.3 per cent to plunge below 13,000, closing at 12,618.38, its lowest level in four years.

The index has lost has lost more than 30 per cent of its value in October.

Analysts blamed concerns about corporate earnings and wider global economic woes for the drop.

India's benchmark Sensitive Index tanked 10.96 per cent to 8,701.07, its lowest close in three years as investors sold heavily after the central bank disappointed them by keeping key interest rates unchanged in its policy review.

The broader 50-share Nifty index fell even more, by 12.2 per cent, to 2,584.

Taiwan's Taiex fell 3.19 per cent to close at 4,579.62 while in Singapore, the Straits Times Index plummeted 8.33 per cent to close at 1,600.28.

Australia's market also plunged. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed down 4.37 per cent at 3,974 while the broader All Ordinaries index fell 4.39 per cent to 3,939. It was the second day in a row the index had fallen more than 3 per cent.

Thai share values plunged 6.96 per cent as the Stock Exchange of Thailand index ended at 432.87, and the Jakarta Composite Index tumbled 6.91 per cent to 1,244.86, slumping to its lowest close since July 2006.

Philippine shares slipped 2.12 per cent as investors remained jittery over the continued volatility in the stock markets around the world. The Philippine Stock Exchange's
30-share composite index closed at 1,953.49.

Analysts said market volatility was likely to continue amid fears of a recession in the United States and elsewhere. (dpa)