TOKYO - ASIAN markets tumbled on Wednesday, along with commodity prices and hopes for a rapid recovery of the global economy.

The pessimism permeated stock exchanges throughout the region, with several losing more than 2 per cent in early afternoon trading.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average extended its losing streak to a sixth day, falling 2.2 per cent to 9,434.91, afterworse-than-expected machinery orders data disappointed investors and fanned concerns about the fragility of the world's second-biggest economy.

The country's core machinery orders, a closely watched indicator of spending on equipment and factories, fell 3 per cent in May from a month earlier. That was far less than economists' expectations for a 1.8 per cent rise and marked the lowest value on record since the government began compiling comparable data in April 1987.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index slid 301 points, or 1.7 per cent, to 17,560.97, while South Korea's Kospi lost 0.9 per cent to 1,421.16. Australia's key stock measure fell 0.5 per cent, while mainland China's Shanghai Composite index - the world's best-performing index this year - tumbled 2.2 per cent.

Investor confidence has waned after poor US and European jobs data and plunging commodities prices. Oil prices have declined to near US$62 (S$90.60) a barrel from US$73 last week amid growing concerns about a slower-than-expected global recovery.

Prices for other commodities from metals to soybeans have also headed south, putting an even greater drag on stock markets.

In Japan, steelmaker JFE Holdings Inc. plunged 5.1 per cent and Nippon Mining Holdings Inc. fell 5.3 per cent.

Recent economic data has stoked fears that the market might have gotten ahead of itself in March and April, when investors sent stocks soaring in hopes that the global recession will end some time this year.

On Tuesday, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 161.27, or 1.9 per cent, to 8,163.60, the lowest finish for the blue chips since April 28. The S&P 500 fell 2 per cent, while the Nasdaq sank 2.3 per cent. -- AP