GLOBAL MARKETS-Asia stocks slide as global outlook darkens

* Asian shares fall 3-5 pct after sell-off on Wall Street

* Oil prices fall to 3-1/2-year low; copper prices fall

* Yen gains limited as Japan investors shift funds abroad

* JGB 10-yr yield falls to 8-mth low on safe-haven buying (Adds comments, European outlook)

By Eric Burroughs

HONG KONG, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Asian equities slid on Tuesday after signs of a deepening global economic slump slammed stocks worldwide the previous day, driving benchmark U.S. Treasury yields to their lowest since the 1950s.

European shares were set to drop between 1.5 percent and 2 percent, according to financial bookmakers.

Adding to the gloom, the U.S. economy was confirmed to have fallen into a recession nearly a year ago and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank is mulling extreme policy measures such as buying government bonds to revive growth. [ID:nN01516053]

An array of reports showing manufacturing activity around the world contracted at the sharpest pace in a decade or more put focus on the pain the credit crisis has inflicted on companies and households. [ID:nN01439823]

"Investors knew the economy was bad, but a series of economic indicators showed it had deteriorated far more than expected," said Soichiro Monji, a chief strategist at Daiwa SB Investments. "It's become clear that it's not just the United States but everyone."

The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS dropped about 4.5 percent, taking this year's losses to nearly 60 percent.

Safe-haven bonds attracted funds, with solid demand at a 10-year Japanese government bond auction helping drive their yields to an eight-month low. Oil prices fell to a 3-1/2-year low on the dour outlook for global demand, while the yen gained on the flare-up of risk aversion.

Global central banks are slashing rates and unveiling new steps to unclog credit markets and contain the economic damage from the 15-month crisis.

The Reserve Bank of Australia chopped rates by a full percentage point to 4.25 percent on Tuesday, a 6-1/2-year low. The Bank of Japan widened the types of corporate debt its accepts in money market operations to bring down steep borrowing costs. [nSYD115800]

Japan's Nikkei average .N225 tumbled 6.4 percent as the yen's surge added to the pain for the country's big exporters, that have suffered a double-whammy from tumbling demand and currency strength shrinking the value of overseas earnings.

The Reuters Tankan survey of confidence at big Japanese manufacturers, a proxy of the BOJ's quarterly poll, posted its biggest one-month fall on record in November. [JP/TAN1]