Asian stocks fell sharply on Tuesday as a market selloff extended on mounting worries that a wide-ranging trade war could dent U.S. economic growth and lead to a recession, sending skittish investors to the safe-haven Japanese yen.

Investor concerns about the potential economic slowdown were exacerbated after U.S. President Donald Trump in a Fox News interview talked about a "period of transition" while declining to predict whether his tariffs would result in a U.S. recession.

Those comments and worries sapped risk sentiment, sending stocks sliding and weighing on the U.S. dollar and Treasury yields.