US stocks plunged before the bell on Monday, setting Wall Street up for another bruising day as markets braced for more fallout from President Trump's fast-moving tariff policy .

Futures tied to the S&P 500 ( ES=F ) plummeted 4.9%, while those on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 ( NQ=F) sold off 5.3%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures ( YM=F ) sank 4.3%, or around 1,600 points. Meanwhile, oil prices dropped around 4% , tumbling below $60 per barrel for the first time since 2021.

US stocks are set to extend a two-day sell-off of epic proportions that saw the Nasdaq Composite ( ^IXIC ) enter a bear market on Friday , as Wall Street shed over $5 trillion in value to post its worst week since 2020.

Meanwhile, markets in Asia and Europe also retreated sharply on Monday as investors became increasingly concerned that Trump might not negotiate on his sweeping tariff hikes, risking widespread economic slowdown.

The president over the weekend showed no signs of backing down in the face of Wall Street panic and international pushback, saying late Sunday that markets may have to "take medicine." He added that he was not intentionally trying to crash stocks.

The China has already announced retaliatory tariffs, and the EU is readying countermeasures . The US's new baseline 10% duties on most trading partners went into effect over the weekend, and additional tariffs on so-called " bad actors " are set to be implemented from Wednesday.

Read more: Live updates on Trump tariffs fallout

JPMorgan on Friday became the first big US bank to project a recession later this year, as forecasters have in just days scrambled projections of a solid growth trajectory for the US economy.

But administration officials defended Trump's plans during appearances on Sunday talk shows. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent rejected the assertion that the tariffs could send the US economy into recession.

Bessent, along with top economic adviser Kevin Hassett, claimed that more than 50 countries have reached out to begin negotiations, raising questions about logistical challenges with the tariffs set to go in place this week. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the tariffs would "definitely going to stay in place for days and weeks."