Asian markets fall after opening

TOKYO, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- Wall Street blues spread to Asian-Pacific markets Thursday as Japan's Nikkei index led the sell-off in early trading.

The 225-stock Nikkei, which took a big hit the previous day on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, dropped more than 7 percent before paring some of the losses after opening Thursday as investor sentiments were badly shaken by the Dow's 515-point loss on Wall Street. A strengthening yen added to their woes.

In mid-morning trading, the Nikkei was down 479 points, or 5.52 percent, to 8,196, Kyodo news service reported. The U.S. dollar was trading in the 97 yen range Thursday, down from 99 yen the previous day.

"While the financial crisis is showing signs of improvement, there are signs of further deterioration of the global real economy, especially that of Europe," one equities trader was quoted as saying.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down more than 662 points, or 4.41 percent, to 13,604 and Australia's All Ordinaries had slipped nearly 4 percent.

China's Shanghai Composite Index opened at 1,851.26, down 45 points or 2.35 percent, Xinhua reported.

South Korean benchmark index also was down sharply. The country's won plunged Thursday against the U.S. dollar, trading at 1,417.5 against the greenback, down more than 54 won from Wednesday's close, Yonhap news agency reported. The Korean won has depreciated about 34 percent against the dollar so far this year.