Tokyo - Asian stocks took a big dive Thursday, reacting to a sharp fall overnight on Wall Street and wiping away gains from earlier in the week.

The largest falls in Asia were seen in Hong Kong and Seoul. Hong Kong shares plunged 7.08 per cent as the blue-chip Hang Seng Index lost 1,050.12 points to close at
13,790.04.

The losses came 24 hours after the index surged by more than 3 per cent on news of Barack Obama's win in Tuesday's US presidential election.

Analysts said Thursday's sharp falls were triggered by the overnight losses on Wall Street, where relentlessly dire US economic data was indicating a prolonged and painful global recession.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average plunged 6.53 per cent to 8,899.14 while the broader Topix index of all first-section issues also lost 5.96 per cent to close at
909.3.

The plunge came on the heels of a Wall Street decline brought on by a report showing rapidly rising job losses.

Shares crashed similarly on the Seoul stock exchange. The benchmark Kospi index fell 7.6 per cent to 1,092.22 while the main index of the technology-heavy Kosdaq market tumbled 8.48 per cent to 311.96.

Indian share prices dipped by more than 3 per cent on heavy selling by foreign funds and retail investors.

An unexpected rise in inflation figures also pushed down shares. Metal and blue-chip stocks were among the big losers.

The benchmark 30-share Sensex of the Bombay Stock Exchange ended with a loss of 385.79 points, or 3.81 per cent, closing at 9,734.22. The Sensex opened weak at
9,755.03 and hit an intra-day low of 9,635.22.

The broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange dipped by 102.3 points to close at 2892.65, about 3.42 per cent below its previous close.

The Philippine Stock Exchange's 30-share composite index slipped 3.21 per cent to 1,941.62 as analysts in Manila said local stocks would continue to take the lead of Wall Street and regional markets.

Australian stocks also drooped with the ASX 200 giving up 4.2 per cent of its value to close at 4,149. Investors took their lead from the US market rather than an upbeat assessment of the global economy by Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner.

"I'm optimistic that things have improved and that we've seen the worst of these circumstances in the United States and in Europe, but I can't guarantee that," Tanner said as stocks slid. "We'll be doing everything we can to push back against these very powerful economic forces." (dpa)