By Wayne Cole

SYDNEY, April 22 (Reuters) - Asian stock markets fought to hold their footing on Tuesday after a furious flight from U.S. assets undermined Wall Street and the dollar, while concerns about the independence of the Federal Reserve piled fresh pressure on Treasuries.

Relatively limited losses in Asia sparked talk that funds could be reallocating money to equities in the area, though the impact of tariffs on economic growth remained a major drag.

President Donald Trump's increasingly vocal attacks on Fed Chair Jerome Powell for not cutting interest rates saw Wall Street indexes shed around 2.5% on Monday and the dollar hit three-year lows.

"The 'sell America' trade was in full flight," said Tapas Strickland, head of market economics at NAB.

"Whether or not President Trump is legally able and willing to move against the Fed, the jousting underscores the loss of U.S. exceptionalism and the very real policy risk for investors."

The selling did abate somewhat in Asia, allowing S&P 500 futures ESc1 to bounce 0.4% and Nasdaq futures NQc1 0.5%.

The market faces another test from earnings this week, with Tesla TSLA.O due later in the session, having already shed almost 6% on Monday amid reports of production delays.

Also reporting this week are Alphabet GOOGL.O and a host of high-profile industrials including Boeing BA.N, Northrop Grumman NOC.N, Lockheed Martin LMT.N and 3M MMM.N.

The fallout from Wall Street saw Japan's Nikkei .N225 ease a modest 0.3%, while MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS dipped 0.2%. Chinese blue chips .CSI300 were holding steady for now.

European shares were less fortunate, with futures for the EUROSTOXX 50 STXEc1, FTSE FFIc1 and DAX FDXc1 all down around 0.7% in choppy trading.

LOSS OF FAITH

Yields on U.S. 10-year notes US10YT=RR stood at 4.40%, having climbed on fears the White House could try and replace Powell with someone more inclined to cut rates, even as inflation was being lifted by Trump's swingeing tariffs.

There was also the concern that the current Fed might now be more reluctant to ease policy in case that was perceived as giving into political pressure.

While White House talks on various trade deals are underway or about to start, a quick resolution seemed unlikely. Analysts at JPMorgan noted the average trade deal took 18 months to negotiate and 45 months to implement.

"We reiterate our view that if current policies do not change, then the probability of a U.S. recession in 2025 is 90%," they said in a note.

The loss of confidence in U.S. assets took a heavy toll on the dollar which touched its lowest since March 2022 against a basket of currencies at 97.923 =USD on Monday.

The currency hit a decade-low on the Swiss franc at 0.8038 CHF=EBS, while the euro EUR=EBS briefly broke above $1.1500, before steadying at $1.1486.

The weakness in the dollar combined with demand for physical safe havens helped gold to another record above $3,343 an ounce XAU=. GOL/

Oil prices have been going the other way as worries about a global slowdown met the prospect of increased supply from OPEC. O/R

There was a slight bounce on Tuesday as Brent LCOc1 rose 58 cents to $66.82 a barrel, while U.S. crude CLc1 added 51 cents to $63.59 per barrel.

(Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

((Wayne.Cole@thomsonreuters.com; 612 9171 7144; Reuters Messaging: wayne.cole.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))

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