Japan's main Nikkei 225 stock index slid almost 2 percent, the Republic of Korea's Kospi saw losses of close to 4 percent, with Australia's ASX down about 1 percent.

The declines come after a torrid session in the US, where the Dow Jones index closed 3.7 percent lower. In Europe, indexes had dropped between 4 percent and 6 percent.

Investors said there were increased concerns about global growth and the impact of a debt crisis in Europe.

The kicker for the sell-off in stocks was Thursday's release of data on the US economy.

It showed that manufacturing activity in the US's mid-Atlantic states slumped to its lowest level since March 2009.

At the same time, sales in the US housing market fell unexpectedly and unemployment claims rose sharply.