(CNN) -- Asian and Pacific markets were solidly in negative territory Thursday as investors came to terms with the likelihood that a long and deep recession is on the horizon.
"The concern is that the economy will turn out worse than the current forecast (and) the recession will be longer and more severe," said Hugh Johnson, chief strategist at ThomasLloyd Global Asset Management in New York.
Japan's Nikkei average was off 4.4 percent Thursday, while the KOSPI index in Seoul was down 5.4 percent.
In Australia, the All Ordinaries lost 4.3 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slipped. 5.5 percent.
The selloff follows three straight down days on Wall Street.
So far this week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has tumbled 661 points, or 7 percent. It was the lowest close for the blue-chip average since October 27.
Tech stocks were also lower, with the Nasdaq composite falling more than 5 percent, to its lowest level since 2003.
The Standard & Poor's 500 (SPX) index fell 5.2 percent.
"This is the culmination of continued bad economic news," said Todd Morgan, senior managing director of Bel Air Investment Advisors, a Los Angeles-based firm. "A crisis of confidence and fear is driving the market."
No immediate improvement is expected on Wall Street on Thursday. U.S. futures, which offer an indication of how markets may open when trading begins in New York, were lower.
European markets were also down on Wednesday. The continent's most influential markets -- in London, Paris and Frankfurt -- lost 1 to 3 percent.
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