Asian markets tumble after Wall Street's plunge as weak data undercut hopes for US recovery

TOKYO (AP) - Asian stock markets plunged Friday after more bad news on the U.S. economy, a vital export market, triggered a broad sell-off on Wall Street overnight. Disappointing reports on U.S. retail sales and jobless claims undercut hopes for a late-year recovery in the U.S. and depressed investor sentiment across Asia. In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed down 2.75 percent at 12,212.23. Hong Kong's... [read full story]