Tokyo  - Asian stocks nosedived throughout the region Monday as investors feared the US bail-out would fall far short of resolving the financial crisis that has also spread to Europe.

Stocks in Tokyo plunged to their lowest levels in five years on worries about the deepening global crisis despite the US Congress' approval of a 700-billion-dollar Wall Street bail-out.

London  -

Paris  - In the wake of share price plunges on stock markets around the world, the Paris Bourse opened sharply lower on Monday.

Frankfurt  - Stocks plunged in early trading in Germany on Monday, a day after the government and banks agreed to expand a bail-out for troubled property lender Hypo Real Estate
(HRE).

Frankfurt's blue chip DAX slumped 4.54 per cent to 5,533.57, its lowest level since July 2006.

All 30 companies on the index suffered losses, with financial institutions leading the way.

HRE was 48.3 per cent lower at 3.88 euros (5.27 dollars), Commerzbank was 14.8 per cent down at 12.08 euros and Deutsche Bank, Germany's biggest, was off 6.2 per cent at 49.75 euros.

Seoul  - Shares nosedived Monday on the Seoul stock exchange, sending the benchmark Kospi Index down more than 4 per cent, as worries over the global financial crisis persist despite a US bailout plan.

The Kospi plunged 60.90 points, or 4.3 per cent, to close at 1,358.75.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers 775 to 79.

The main index of the technology-heavy Kosdaq market declined 25.71 points to 406.39.