A massive selloff on Wall Street and escalating fears of a global recession sent Asian stocks plunging Friday, with Japan's key index shedding nearly 10 percent to close out its worst week in history.
Despite recent moves by the world's central banks to thaw frozen credit markets and boost investor confidence, their efforts have fallen flat as markets hurtled toward a global equity crisis.
"Selling is unstoppable in New York and Tokyo," said Yutaka Miura, senior strategist at Shinko Securities Co. Ltd. in Tokyo. "Investors were gripped by fear."