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Asian markets extended losses on Monday on deepening worries over a U.S. economic recession and a weaker dollar. MOREINFO: Asian markets extended falls on Monday on ongoing fears of a U.S. economic slowdown and gold hit a record near $900 an ounce as risk averse investors sought safe haven assets. SCRIPT: Asian markets extended losses on Monday on deepening worries over a U.S. economic recession and a weaker dollar. South Korea's Kospi fell 1 percent to a five-month closing low, as investors continued to sell-off exporters on concerns a U.S. slowdown could hurt demand for South Korean goods. But Samsung Electronics, the world's top memory chip maker, gained as market players increasingly bet on a rebound in the chip market as early as the second quarter. Australian shares ended down for a sixth straight session, weighed down by mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto. But Taiwan shares bucked the trend, hitting a one-week closing high, after a win by the country's China-friendly Nationalist party at the weekend. In commodity news, oil prices extended recent falls as the growing threat of a U.S. downturn outweighed supply worries in Iran and Nigeria. Gold prices meanwhile hit a fresh record high just below the key psychological level of $900 dollars an ounce, as risk averse investors flocked to safe haven assets. Investors are waiting ahead to earnings announcements from top U.S. investment banks such as Merrill Lynch and Citigroup for clues on the extent of the fallout from the subprime mortgage crisis and its impact on the world's largest economy. Nina Mehra reporting for Reuters.