By Wayne Cole and Alun John SYDNEY/LONDON (Reuters) -Major stock indexes and U.S. share futures plunged on Monday, with the S&P 500 poised to confirm a bear market, and volatility gauges spiked as U.S.

Wall Street's volatility index on Friday hit levels not seen since the stock market crash during COVID-19. Read more here.

Wall Street's "fear gauge" is back at pandemic-era levels, reflecting escalating unease about the market fallout from President Trump's tariff blitz. The Cboe Volatility Index, or VIX, jumped, recently standing at about 44.

Lighter regulation, torrid deal-making and lower taxes were in the cards, and that alone promised better growth than the gangbusters economic performance of the Biden years. Or so the argument went.

STORY: The dollar on Thursday last week posted its biggest daily fall of 1.7% since November 2022.That’s after President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on imports at levels not seen since the early 1900s.

Global stock markets extended a severe plunge Monday, fueled by fears that U.S. tariffs would lead to a global economic slowdown. European and Asian shares saw dramatic losses, the leading U.S. index flirted with bear market territory in pre-market trading,

Trump has insisted his tariffs are necessary to rebalance global trade and rebuild domestic manufacturing. He's singled out China as “the biggest abuser of them all” and criticized Beijing for increasing its own tariffs in retaliation.

Markets extended a global selloff on April 4 as countries around the world reeled from President Donald Trump's tariffs. Reporter The U.S. and global stock markets have been hit hard since President Donald Trump announced his latest tariffs on April 2.

By The Associated Press 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