A passerby walks before a stock market indicator board in Tokyo, Japan, on March 11, 2025. The Nikkei stock index plunged over 2 percent during the morning trading session following concerns on US economy and overnight loss at the New York Stock Exchange. Photo: VCG

Most Asia-Pacific stock indexes slid on Tuesday, following a plunge in US stock markets on Monday US time, as anxiety over the US government's tariff policy and a potential recession in the world's largest economy continued to spread, according to media reports.

On Tuesday, Japan's Nikkei 225 ended the day 0.64 percent lower at 36,793.11, paring steeper losses earlier in the session, while South Korea's Kospi dropped 1.28 percent to close at 2,537.60. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.91 percent lower at 7,890.10, reversing course from gains in the previous session.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was flat in its final hour, while the Chinese mainland's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was up 0.41 percent to 3,379.83 points. The Taiex index in China's Taiwan region closed down 1.73 percent at 22,071.09, paring losses from an over 3 percent drop earlier in the session.

The losses in most Asia-Pacific stock markets came after a sell-off on Wall Street on Monday, when the S&P 500 shed 2.7 percent, touching its lowest level since September at one point and closing at 5,614.56, according to CNBC. 

The widespread sell-off was "mostly driven by anxiety about the impact" of the US government's tariff policy, CNN reported on Monday.

Some US financial institutions have also raised the alarm about the growing risk of an economic downturn in the US. Goldman Sachs recently hiked its odds of a recession in the US from 15 percent to 20 percent. "The threat of a recession is real," Olu Sonola, head of US regional economics at Fitch Ratings, was quoted by ABC News as saying on Tuesday.

Huo Jianguo, a vice chairman of the China Society for World Trade Organization Studies in Beijing, told the Global Times on Tuesday that the US stock market's fall will cause corresponding volatility in other places. "If the US' policies were to comprehensively target more countries, they would have a greater destructive impact on the world," he said.

Huo pointed out that additional tariffs levied by the US administration may raise production costs and the prices of consumer goods in the US, and the Federal Reserve has to maintain high interest rates to counter domestic high inflation, thereby raising market concerns on the outlook for the US economy.

Notably, US-based multinational investment bank Citigroup Inc on Tuesday downgraded US equities to neutral from overweight while upgrading China to overweight, saying that US exceptionalism is at least on pause, Bloomberg reported.

Chinese shares look attractive even after their recent rally, the Citi strategists wrote, citing DeepSeek's artificial intelligence technology breakthrough, the government's support for the tech sector and still-cheap valuations.

"At the start of 2025, a trend emerged of capital outflows from the US stock market while funds flowed into China's A-share and H-share markets," Yang Delong, chief economist at Shenzhen-based First Seafront Fund, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Chinese stocks are undervalued, which means potential investment opportunities. China's stepped-up policy support, alongside technological breakthroughs such as the emergence of DeepSeek, has bolstered global investors' confidence in Chinese tech assets, according to Yang. 

Meanwhile, concerns over adverse impact from the US tariffs came after the US administration imposed a series of back-and-forth tariff moves against its major trade partners since January, including 25 percent tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum, another 10 percent tariff on imports from China and so-called "reciprocal" tariffs, moves that have drawn strong responses from other countries, including China.

Concerns over the adverse impact of the US tariffs mounted as the US administration imposed a series of back-and-forth tariff moves against its major trade partners since January, including China, Canada and Mexico. In the latest move, US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he has ordered his administration to raise tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum imports by an additional 25 percent, bringing the total to 50 percent, CNBC reported. 

The previous US tariffs have drawn firm responses from its trading partners. China on March 4 announced additional tariffs of up to 15 percent on some products imported from the US, effective from March 10, in responding to the US tariffs.

In response to a question regarding the US government's imposition of additional tariffs on Chinese goods, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Tuesday that the US is bent on using the fentanyl issue as an excuse to impose additional tariffs twice on Chinese imports, and China has made clear its opposition more than once.

Mao emphasized that the countermeasures China has taken are legitimate and necessary in safeguarding its rights and interests. "If harming China's interests is what the US wants, China will take resolute countermeasures. If the US truly wants to solve the issue, then the right thing to do is to consult with China on the basis of equality, mutual respect and mutual benefit to address each other's concerns," Mao said.