Washington - US stocks posted sharp losses on Thursday as oil prices continued to fall and weekly jobless numbers sparked wider concerns about the state of employment in a sluggish US economy.

The job fears came ahead of monthly unemployment figures due out on Friday, and dragged down shares in Caterpillar Inc and United Technologies Corp among others. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News predicted a further 75,000 jobs were lost in August.

Sydney - Australian shares tumbled Friday following steep losses on Wall Street and in Europe.

Taipei - Taiwan stocks fell nearly 3 per cent Thursday over underlying economic worries as President Ma Ying-jeou said he would not be able realize his pledge to boost Taiwan's economy within his term.

The TAIEX index dipped 172.30 points, or 2.62 per cent, to close at 6,412.63.

Leading the fall are China-related shares - electronics, tourism, shipping, aviation and construction shares. Tourism companies lost ground as arrivals from mainland China remained below expectations.

After opening with a loss of 154.01 points at 14,895.85, the benchmark index Sensex continued to trade in the pessimistic zone because of heavy profit booking witnessed in realty, power and metal stocks, while healthcare and IT stocks went up.

At 10.59 am, the 30-share index Sensex stood at 14.903.13, down 146.73 points. It also hit a high of 14,923.33 and a low of 14,766.01.

On the other hand, the broad based Nifty lost 57.50 points at 4,446.50, after touching a high of 4,514.60 and a low of 4,419.45.

Tokyo - Tokyo stocks opened weaker Thursday, dragged down by technology and shipping titles.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 45.37 points, or 0.36 per cent, to 12,644,22.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues was also down 6.22 points, or 0.51 per cent, to 1,214,33.

Japanese glassmakers and shipping companies fell, after forecasts of slowing orders for television screens and freight rates for commodities.

On currency markets at 9 am (0000 GMT), the dollar was quoted at 108.29-34 yen, from Wednesday's 5 pm quote of 100,90-91 yen.

Asian stocks were trading lower on Thursday due to weak market sentiment. Technical Analysts blame global slowdown for the recent drop in stock markets.