Japan`s Nikkei stock index tumbled more than seven percent in late trade Thursday on growing worries about the outlook for the global economy.

The benchmark lost 685.97 points to 8,835.27.

The drop wiped out the gains seen a day earlier on hopes that US president-elect Barack Obama will get to work on fixing the world`s largest economy in the face of the worst financial crisis in decades.

`Now that the event is over, investors are sobering up and looking at the economic gloom,` said Mizuho Investors Securities broker Masatoshi Sato.