Asia markets plunge on Wall Street fears

Markets across Asia tumbled Monday as Wall Street teetered on the edge of 12-year lows.Japan's influential Nikkei average finished down 3.8 percent, while the All Ordinaries index in Australia closed down 2.8 percent. In Seoul, the KOSPI lost 4.2 percent and the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong dipped 3.8 percent. The dismal trading comes as Wall Street sits on the precipice of nearly 12-year lows. The Dow Jones Industrials closed down 1.7 percent on Friday at 7,063, while the broader-based Standard and Poor's 500 lost 2.7 percent, to finish the week at 735. The tech-heavy NASDAQ lost about a percent and closed at 1,378.

All the pressure points for the economy and business are in play this week with reports or congressional hearings due on housing, consumer spending, government spending, bank rescue efforts, manufacturing and, perhaps most significantly, the labor market. How Wall Street reacts to the news will be key. Investors continue to look for signs that the market has factored in enough of the bad news to at least stabilize, if not move higher.