Asian stocks tumble after heavy sell-off on Wall Street

Japan's main Nikkei 225 index shed 3.4% to 9,329.75. South Korea lost 4.2%, while Australia slid 2.4%.On Thursday, shares in the US and Europe tumbled on fears about the strength of the US economic recovery and the eurozone debt crisis.Asian stock markets have slumped on Friday, extending a global equity sell-off after Wall Street had its worst day in more than two years.Analysts warned that global markets may remain volatile in the coming weeks."People were cautiously optimistic that we would get back on track in the second half of the year. But with the US recovery stalling and the possible repercussions for the global economy, stock markets have been under pressure for a while."The sell-off in global equities has hit investors hard.Over the past nine trading sessions, the US S&P 500 stock index has lost $1.37tn (£843.6bn) from its total market value.In Europe, the UK's FTSE has seen £160.9bn ($261bn) wiped off its market value. In Germany, the Dax has shed 85.5bn euros (£74.2bn; $120.5bn), with France's Cac losing 13.6bn euros."Fear is the major theme," David Cohen of Action Economics told the BBC in an interview.