Asia-Pacific equities followed Wall Street and European stocks steeply lower as worries about a global recession intensified amid deteriorating economic data.

The Nikkei 225 slumped 9.6 per cent to 8,635.56, getting closer to wiping out Tuesday's record 14.2 per cent daily gain. The broader Topix dropped 7.6 per cent to 883.21.

Risk aversion prompted yen purchases and the currency rose against the dollar to Y100.34, compared with Wednesday's levels of Y101.70. Crude oil futures also slid, recently down 2 per cent at $73.07, trading at levels not seen since in more than a year.

The Hang Seng opened for trading in Hong Kong down 7 per cent at 14,878.57, while the sub index of mainland Chinese companies traded in the territory lost 9.1 per cent to 7,173.86. Shanghai shares were trading down 4 per cent at 1,915.201 and the Kospi in Seoul was down 7 per cent at 1,246.87.

The Japanese prime minister, Taro Aso, told parliament this morning stock prices were falling because investors don't believe the US's bailout plan is sufficient, according to Reuters.

In Australia, stocks shed 5.9 per cent to 4,044.9, while Singapore shares were down 6 per cent at 1,936.45. S&P 500 futures dropped 1.3 per cent to 891.20. Overnight, the S&P 500 dropped more than 9 per cent, its biggest one-day decline in percentage terms since the stock market crash of 1987. In Europe, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 index dropped 6.5 per cent.

Economic data painted a gloomy picture for the US and Europe, with retail sales in the world's largest economy falling 1.2 per cent in September, the sharpest fall for three years. In addition, the Fed's beige book survey of economic conditions showed worsening consumer spending and a weak labour market.

The UK's unemployment rate gained half a percentage point to 5.7 per cent in the three months to August compared with the previous quarter, its biggest rise since 1991.