ASIAN markets endured another wild ride on Monday with Japanese stocks hitting a 26-year low on fears that emergency steps by world governments will be too late to prevent a global recession.

A look at Asian closing trade:

- Japan's Nikkei stock index plunged 6.36 per cent, hitting the lowest level since 1982. Nikkei fell 486.18 points to 7,162.90.

- Philippine shares closed 12.3 percent lower.

Hong Kong shares 9.0 per cent lower in afternoon trade. The benchmark Hang Seng Index nosedived 1,602.54 points to 11,015.84, its lowest level since August 2003. Turnover was light at 53,17 billion Hong Kong dollars (S$10.32 billion).

- Chinese share prices closed down 6.32 per cent. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers A and B shares, was down 116.27 points at 1,723.35 on turnover of 32.2 billion yuan (S$7.1 billion dollars).

South Korean shares recovered from sharp intraday falls to close 0.8 per cent higher Monday on buying by local funds. The KOSPI index ended up 7.70 points at 946.45.

- Taiwan share prices closed down 4.65 per cent. The weighted index fell 212.75 points to 4,366.87, off a low of 4,301.33 and a high of 4,391.95, on turnover of NT$35.87 billion (US$1.62 billion).

- Australian shares closed down 1.6 per cent. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dropped 60.2 points to close at 3,809.2 while the broader All Ordinaries Index fell 63.3 points to end the day at 3,768.3.