Asian markets continue Monday's plunge – down 5%

Gold spiked at $1,771 per ounce on Monday, 9/8/11 following S&P downgrade Friday
Investors ran from stock securities as Asian markets opened on Tuesday. Japan's benchmark Nikkei was down 5 percent, the Hang Seng index by more than 7 percent on opening.

The poor opening bell performance in Asia followed a crushing Monday in which the Dow-Jones Industrial Average declined by 250 points in a matter of minutes and closed down by 634 points. Stocks finished the day down by 15 percent of their value over the past two weeks, a 5.5 percent decline of the Dow, a 4 percent decline in South Korea and 2 percent in Japan, 5 percent in Germany and 4 percent in France.

It was the worst trading day since the debacle of Dec. 1, 2008, the sixth-steepest decline ever, that saw the Dow finishing at 10,809.85 – under 11,000 for the first time since November.

U.S. debt, desirable because of its liquidity, was the highest traded currency, while gold set a record price at $1,771 per ounce. Traders are targeting a bullion price of $2,500 per ounce, according to "Financial Times."