'Bloodbath' in the markets: European and Asian stocks have started to fall.

The market massacre triggered by Trump's trade tariffs continues at full speed on Monday after three consecutive days of significant losses.

Following U.S. President Donald Trump reiterating his determination to eliminate trade deficits, particularly with China, and denying any intention to create turmoil in the markets, European markets opened lower on Monday morning. The market massacre caused by Trump's trade tariffs continues unabated on Monday after three consecutive days of significant losses, with no signs that the bleeding will stop. European stock markets are experiencing their worst session since the COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020 as investors continue to flee risky assets. The Euro STOXX 50 fell by 6% at 12:00 PM, bringing its losses over the last three sessions to 14%. The broader STOXX 600 dropped by 5.7%, increasing its decline since the tariff announcement to 13%. Germany's DAX fell by 7.2%, experiencing its sharpest session since March 12, 2020, while Italy's FTSE MIB lost 6.5% and Spain's IBEX 35 lost 6%. U.S. stock futures continued their declines and opened sharply lower on Monday. S&P 500 futures fell by 3.5%, Nasdaq futures dropped by 4.5%, and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures decreased by 2.9%. Meanwhile, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), commonly referred to as Wall Street's "fear gauge," surged by 51% last week to exceed 45, a level not seen since 2020. U.S. government bonds sharply rose as yields fell, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury bond dropping below 4% for the first time since October 2024. In Europe, the yield on Germany's 10-year bond also fell to a four-month low. However, gold futures declined early on Monday as investors sold the metal to offset stock losses, continuing losses from last week's all-time high. Despite the pullback, analysts expect gold to remain the best-performing safe-haven asset in the current environment. Investors Seek Safe Havens Amid market turmoil, investors have turned to traditional safe-haven assets, boosting the euro, Japanese yen, Swiss franc, and government bonds. The euro reached a six-month high, surpassing 1.10 against the U.S. dollar at one point last week. The EUR/USD pair stabilized above 1.09 in Monday's Asian session after Friday's retreat. Both the yen and the Swiss franc reached their highest levels against the dollar since October 2024. Bloodbath in the Markets: Where is the Bottom? Zaye Capital Markets stated in an email to Euronews on Monday morning, "The bloodbath continues unabated, and you can see that clearly when looking at the European markets. There is no safe haven: stock markets have entered a complete free fall without a clear bottom in sight. The reason we say there isn't a bottom yet is that none of the fundamental factors indicate that the trade war has ended. In fact, in many ways, it seems like the conflict has just begun. Market participants are not fully aware of the real extent of the damage, as the current pricing is almost entirely based on predictions and assumptions," he said. Referring back to U.S. futures, Zaye Capital Markets expressed that most investors are afraid to even check their trading accounts. "Futures are experiencing another significant decline today, and it is clear that there is still a substantial risk of further declines in this market. There was some hope that reason would prevail and a type of remedy or assurance would come from Washington. However, based on the latest comments, it seems that investors will have to endure even more pain before any solution is reached." The group noted that this sets the stage not only for a challenging trading day but also for increasing fears of widespread margin calls. "The biggest risk lies here. Many investors likely did not account for this risk, especially after the strong recovery seen in recent months. If the current collapse continues, a wave of selling driven by forced liquidations due to margin calls could intensify and potentially lead to further market carnage." Trump: 'My trade deficit target is firm' U.S. President Donald Trump insisted he did not intentionally trigger the intense market sell-off but reaffirmed his goal to eliminate the U.S. trade deficit. Since Trump announced higher-than-expected reciprocal tariffs last week, global stock markets have fallen, and trillions of dollars have been wiped out on Wall Street. On Friday, China responded with retaliatory tariffs, imposing a 34% import tax on all U.S. goods, marking a significant escalation in the global trade war. Over the weekend, Trump stated aboard Air Force One, "I don’t want anything to get worse, but sometimes you need to take medicine to fix something." He continued, "We need to resolve our trade deficit with China. We have a $1 trillion trade deficit with China - we are losing hundreds of billions of dollars a year. If we don't solve this problem, I will not make a deal." Trump also demanded financial compensation from Europe: "We imposed a big tariff on Europe. They come to the table wanting to talk, but there will be no discussion unless they pay us a lot of money on an annual basis - not just for the present time, but for the past as well." Asian Stocks Widen Losses On Monday, stocks in Asia and U.S. stock futures increased their losses as the escalating global trade war continued to dampen investor confidence. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell about 10% at the opening after returning from last Friday's public holiday, erasing all gains made since February. Chinese stocks had rebounded strongly earlier in the year, spurred by DeepSeek's launch of a lower-cost AI model and Beijing's promise of more stimulus. The Hang Seng Index had surged by 24% before peaking on March 19, reaching its highest point since the announcement of Trump's reciprocal tariffs. After a sharp wave of selling, the index is now up only 3.2% since the beginning of the year. Japan's Nikkei 225 index dropped 6% in early trading, reaching an 18-month low and triggering a circuit breaker. The index has fallen more than 20% from its January highs, entering bear market territory. South Korea's Kospi index fell over 4%, and Australia's ASX 200 index also declined by about 4%. Although the three indices later rebounded somewhat, they remained in negative territory throughout the day. Kyle Rodda, a senior market analyst at Capital.com, stated, "This week there could be major gains in positive headlines. However, it will not be a sustainable move until Trump indicates that he does not intend to further increase tariffs and is open to negotiating lower tariffs with trading partners... It's really that simple."