Asian shares plunge as Wall Street declines fuel further sell-offs,

Shares fell in early trading in Asia as investors shaken by the sell-off Friday on Wall Street unloaded shares in many sectors.

The Shanghai composite index tumbled 6.2 percent Monday morning to 3,289.53 in early trading; Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 4.2 percent to 21,475.15 and Japan's Nikkei 225 stock index dropped 2.5 percent to 18,956.67. Australia slid 2.5 percent to 5,084.30, while South Korea's Kospi lost 0.5 percent.

Friday's wave of selling culminated with the S&P 500 losing nearly 6 percent for the week in its worst weekly slump since 2011.

That followed fresh signs of a slowdown in the Chinese economy, with a gauge of manufacturing showing that key sectors are continuing to contract. Weaker demand is spilling over into other markets that export to China.