MARKETS in Japan and Australia fell on Tuesday (Mar 11) morning, as US markets dropped deep into negative territory on fears over tariffs and recession risks.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 tumbled more than 2 per cent in early trade, while Australia’s S&P/ASX index was down 1.44 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi dropped nearly 1.8 per cent.

The tech-focused Nasdaq suffered its biggest one-day loss since 2022, declining 4 per cent overnight to 17,468.32. The S&P 500 dropped 2.7 per cent, closing at 5,614.56 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.1 per cent to 41,911.71.

The declines are an extension of losses that have been ongoing for the past few weeks, with the S&P 500 down over 8 per cent from its Feb 19 high and the Nasdaq at a more than 10 per cent decline from its December high, according to Reuters.

Investors are fearing the impact of tariffs on the US’ major trading partners, such as China, Canada and Mexico. Donald Trump has also said the US economy is facing “a period of transition,” as he avoided addressing the possibility of a recession this year, Bloomberg said.

“The sharp sell-off in equities ... continued as concerns over US tariff policy and government job cuts continued to weigh,” said ANZ Research.

“No let-up in uncertainty seems likely in the near term given reciprocal and other tariffs will be announced in April with more to follow in May,” it added.

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