Asian markets stage mild rebound but Trump tariff uncertainty reigns

Asian markets battled Tuesday to recover from the previous day's tariff-fuelled collapse, though Donald Trump's warning of more measures against China and Beijing's vow to fight "to the end" raised concerns the trade war could worsen.

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Equities across the world have been hammered since the US president unveiled sweeping levies against friend and foe, upending trading norms, sparking talk of a global recession and wiping trillions of company valuations.

Investors fought to claw back some of those losses as they try to assess the possibility that Washington could temper some of the tariffs. Tokyo traded up more than six percent -- recovering much of Monday's drop -- after Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba held talks with Trump.

However, the US leader's threat to hit China with an extra 50 percent tariffs -- in response to its 34 percent retaliation in kind -- ramped up the chances of a catastrophic stand-off between the two economic superpowers.