CNNMoney.com) -- Asia and Pacific stocks opened sharply lower Friday as investor fears about the global financial crisis deepened.
On Friday, Japan's Nikkei Exchange was down more than 10% in early trading, dropping below 9,000, while the Australian Securities Exchange was down more than 6% and South Korea's KOSPI Index fell more than 7%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index opened down more than 7.5% and the Shanghai stock market fell more than 5%.