Asian markets slide

A global stock sell-off hit Asian markets on Tuesday after Wall Street's sharpest one-day drop since 2020, as investors worry about a slowdown in the world's largest economies.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slipped 2.8 percent in afternoon trade after a one-day holiday. Chinese tech companies listed in the area saw some of the sharpest declines, with Alibaba down as much as 7 percent and the Hang Seng Tech Index down 3.6 percent.

China's CSI-300 index of shares listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen fell 1.5 percent before rebounding, gaining 0.2 percent by midday.

Tuesday's falls followed a sharp decline in global stock markets the previous day, when the FTSE All World Index fell 3 percent to hit its lowest level in more than a year.

US Treasury bonds rallied as investors sought safe havens amid uncertainty over the extent to which the Federal Reserve would hike interest rates. The 10-year government bond yield fell three basis points to 3%. Yields fall when prices rise.

Elsewhere in Asia, tech-heavy South Korea's Kospi fell 2.1 percent on Tuesday to its lowest level since November 2020, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 and Japanese benchmark Topix fell 1.2 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.

Bitcoin tumbled below $30,000 for the first time since July 2021 as the world's largest cryptocurrency was hit by its market cap as investors fled riskier assets.

Oil prices also eased, with international oil benchmark Brent falling 1.2 percent to $104.75 a barrel.

However, Wall Street's slide appeared to be leveling off on Tuesday as futures for the Nasdaq and S&P 500 rose 0.5 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively.

European futures pointed to a mixed open, with the Euro Stoxx 50 up 0.2 percent and the FTSE 100 down 0.1 percent.

Losses in Asia came after dismal Chinese export data showed growth had slowed sharply over the past month as weakened demand from the brutal coronavirus continued to weigh on the world's second-largest economy.

BlackRock revised its bullish stance on China last week. The New York-based investment house downgraded its rating on the country's stocks and bonds to "neutral" from "slightly overweight" as the economic outlook deteriorated despite support from Beijing last month.

"We are seeing growing geopolitical concerns about Beijing's ties with Russia. This means foreign investors may come under increased pressure to avoid Chinese assets for regulatory or other reasons," according to the BlackRock Investment Institute, an in-house research unit led by Jean Boivin.

"Final measures will curb economic activity. China's policymakers have announced easing to prevent a slowdown in growth - but they have not acted fully yet."

The world's largest wealth manager had increased its presence in China and its think-tank previously recommended that investors triple their exposure to China.