Asian Stocks Continue Plunge

Jitters over the US economy led to a major sell-off in Asian markets for the second straight day, with Australia's benchmark index closing down 7.1%—the biggest single-day loss in nearly 20 years. India's Sensex index skidded 10%, triggering a shutdown, but rallied to close down 4.6%. Japan's Nikkei and the broader Topix index finished 5.7% lower, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slumped 8.7% the day after global indexes suffered their biggest plunge since 9/11.

"It doesn't look good at all. We expected it to fall, but nobody expected this kind of correction," said a trader in India. Fearful investors are worried about the impact a possible US recession could have on Asia's export-driven economies. Many analysts believe President Bush's measures to boost the economy are too little, too late.