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.

The U.S. President said he wasn't concerned about the sell-offs, adding, “sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something.”

Asian stock markets are slumping as the shockwaves from US President Donald Trump's tariffs continue to reverberate around the world. Major indexes from Shanghai to Tokyo and Sydney to Hong Kong plunged when they opened on Monday.

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.

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.

The tariff-induced market mayhem isn’t over just yet. US stock futures plunged Sunday evening after two sessions of sell-offs that wiped away over $5.4 trillion in market value. Stocks were set to open sharply lower Monday,

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.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index lost nearly 8% shortly after the market opened. An hour later it was down 7.1% at 31,375.71. South Korea’s Kospi lost 5.5% to 2,328.52, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 tumbled 6.

Stock futures slid as Trump administration officials said they will be steadfast in implementing the tariff regime announced Wednesday.

But some economists predict Americans will feel the pain – at least in the short term – and low-income Americans most of all. Start the day smarter. Get all the news you need in your inbox each morning.

China is warning against panic in the face of President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs, saying it has plenty of tools to defend the economy, while not ruling out negotiations with the US. Meanwhile,

China struck back on Friday, announcing a 34% tariff on American goods as other foreign leaders weigh their response. Meanwhile, Trump's universal 10% levy against all countries went into effect early Saturday.

The Chinese tariffs, announced Friday and taking effect Thursday, match the rate of the ones Trump imposed this week on Chinese products flowing into the United States, coming on top of two rounds of 10% tariffs already declared in February and March,

The import taxes Trump announced last week have sent financial markets reeling, raised fears of a recession and upended the global trading system.

China said on Saturday "the market has spoken" in rejecting U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, and called on Washington for "equal-footed consultation" after global markets plunged in reaction to the trade levies that drew Chinese retaliation.