UPDATE 9-Copper drops 10 pct amid late equity sell-off

* Copper falls 9 pct, aluminium sinks 5 pct to 3-yr lows

* Recession worries, a strong dollar drag down prices

* Growth in big metal consumer China slows

(Recasts, updates with New York closing copper prices, adds analyst comments, New York to dateline and byline)

By Chris Kelly and Anna Stablum

NEW YORK/LONDON, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Copper's losses deepened in late business on Wednesday, slumping by 10 percent as stock markets tumbled and fears of recession gripped the complex, spurring additional deleveraging in the industrial metal.

London Metal Exchange copper MCU3 for delivery in three months closed down at $4,160 per tonne versus $4,500 on Tuesday. In after-hours trade, it fell as far as $4,040 a tonne, its lowest level since November 2005.

The metal, used in power and construction, has more than halved from a record high of $8,940 a tonne in July.

Copper for December delivery HGZ8 fell further in after-hours trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division to as low as $1.8060 per lb, after it had closed 7 percent lower at $1.8655.

"There's no sign of a bottom," said David Rinehimer, director of Citi Futures Perspective in New York. "It's moving closely with the equity markets. That's the way the price pattern has been lately ... equities go down a lot, copper goes down."

U.S. stocks tumbled for a second straight day on Wednesday as disappointing profits and outlooks from a raft of companies compounded fears of a global recession.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI slipped 556.10 points, or over 6 percent, at one point to 8,471.74.

"The equities are reflecting investor sentiment and the general economic outlook," Rinehimer added.

Gayle Berry, an analyst with Barclays Capital said rising copper stockpiles in London warehouses added to the negative sentiment about demand.

Copper stocks in LME warehouses rose 1,850 tonnes to 207,750 -- about 90 percent above the lows for this year seen in May and accounting for just over four days of global consumption.

"It's still a story about dollar strength," said Frank McGhee, head metals trader with Integrated Brokerage Services LLC in Chicago.

The dollar soared to a two-year high against the euro EUR= and a five-year high against sterling GBP=. Metals are priced in dollars, and a stronger dollar makes it more expensive for holders of other currencies.

CHINA SLOWS

The prices of some metals rallied to record highs this year, and seemed immune to the credit crunch that began to take its toll on other markets last year because demand in China appeared intact, analysts say. But that seems to have changed.

"Demand from China was a big driver and now the momentum in terms of demand is coming down very quickly," said Ashok Shah, chief investment officer at London & Capital.

Growth in China -- the world's biggest consumer of copper -- is slowing, and data this week showed soft industrial production and a fall in GDP growth to 9 percent in the third quarter from above 10 percent. [ID:nPEK279401]

The world's biggest miner BHP Billiton (BHP.AX) warned Chinese demand was set to weaken, although it showed little sign of trimming output.

"China has not been immune to the global slowdown," BHP said. "We expect volatility and uncertainty to continue in the short term." [ID:nSYD398426]

China is also the world's biggest buyer of aluminium scrap, used to produce aluminium alloy, and scrap merchants were defaulting on and delaying imports of contracted scrap, traders said. [ID:nHKG344375]

Aluminium MAL3 plummeted to $1,976 per tonne, its lowest since November 2005 and ended at $2,002 versus Tuesday's $2,080. Lead MPB3 fell almost 9 percent or $120 to a low of $1,250 a tonne -- the lowest since September 2006 and ended at $1,260/1,261 from Tuesday's $1,370.

Zinc MZN3 shed $25 to $1,140 a tonne and earlier it touched $1,118 -- the lowest since December 2004 and nickel MNI3 fell to $10,000 from $10,700/10,705.

Tin MSN3 lost 6.4 percent to $11,510, its weakest since January 2007, before closing at $11,550, down $750. Metal Prices at 1851 GMT Metal Last Change Pct Move End 2007 Ytd Pct move LME Cu 4060.00 -440.00 -9.78 6670.00 -39.13 SHFE Cu* 36070.00 -1090.00 -2.93 56880.00 -36.59 LME Alum 1985.00 -95.00 -4.57 2403.00 -17.39 SHFE Alu* 13700.00 -420.00 -2.97 18180.00 -24.64 COMEX Cu** 185.10 -15.60 -7.77 303.05 -38.92 LME Zinc 1110.00 -55.00 -4.72 2370.00 -53.16 SHFE Zinc* 9800.00 -410.00 -4.02 18950.00 -48.28 LME Nick 9750.00 -800.00 -7.58 26350.00 -63.00 LME Lead 1264.00 -106.00 -7.34 2550.00 -50.43 LME Tin 11500.00 -800.00 -6.50 16400.00 -29.88 ** 1st contract month for COMEX copper * 3rd contact month for SHFE AL, CU and ZN SHFE ZN began trading on 26/3/07 (Additional reporting by Nick Trevethan in Singapore and Humeyra Pamuk in London, Editing by Marguerita Choy)