Behind the slides have been concerns over the Ukraine-Russia war, soaring inflation, higher interest rates and, more recently, a possible US recession.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 491.27 points, or 1.56%, to 30,946.99, the S&P 500 lost 78.56 points, or 2.01%, to 3,821.55 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 343.01 points, or 2.98%, to 11,181.54.
Central banks around the world are looking to raise interest rates aggressively to curb rising inflation, a sentiment underscored by Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Philip Lowe, who pointed in a speech to further rate hikes.
A shock 50 basis point rate hike from the Swiss National Bank overnight sent the franc on its sharpest rise in seven years, forced an unwind of carry trades and set off a new round of worry that rising global rates will snuff out growth.
The negative tone in Asia follows a bleak session in the US on Monday, which saw Goldman Sachs forecast a 75 basis point interest rate hike at the Federal Reserve's next policy meeting on Wednesday.