Stock markets posted big losses on Monday as investors fear a global trade war. President Donald Trump has given no sign of backing down on tariffs.

I don’t want anything to go down, but sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something,” Trump told reporters on Sunday.

Asian markets plunged on Monday following last week's two-day meltdown on Wall Street, and President Donald Trump said he won't back down on the sweeping new tariffs he announced on April 2 that have roiled global trade.

Investor morale in the euro zone tumbled in April to its lowest point in more than a year, a survey showed on Monday, as U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs hammered sentiment in the bloc.

Middle East stock markets tumbled Monday as they struggled with the dual hit of the United States' new tariff policy and a sharp decline in oil prices, squeezing energy-producing nations that rely on those sales to power their economies and government spending.

As a region that manufactures so many of the goods sold globally, Asian countries and territories are being hit directly by the tariffs. They are also particularly sensitive to the impact of fears that a global trade war could trigger a slowdown or even a recession in the world's biggest economy.

A White House policy decision – not the emergence of a deadly virus or a terrorist attack – has shaken the global order. What happens next?

Major stock indexes plunged in Asia on Monday as U.S. President Donald Trump showed no sign of backing away from his sweeping tariff plans, and investors bet the mounting risk of recession could see the Federal Reserve cutting rates as early as May.

Asian shares nosedived on Monday after the meltdown Friday on Wall Street over U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff hikes and the backlash from Beijing.