Asia, Pacific markets plunge on news U.S. is in recession

(CNN) - Asian and Pacific markets opened sharply lower Tuesday, a day after Wall Street was hammered by investor bailouts following confirmation that the United States is mired in a recession that is likely to continue for some time.

Tokyo's Nikkei index slid 5.64 percent in early trading, Australia's All Ordinaries index dropped 3.13 percent and Seoul's KOSPI index fell 3.48 percent.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 680 points, its fourth-biggest single-session decline on a point basis ever. The decline was 7.7 percent in percentage terms - the 12th worst percentage one-day decline ever. It ended at 8,149.