New Delhi, April 7 -- Asian equity markets plunged on Monday, hitting multi-year lows, as concerns over a potential global recession intensified following the announcement of harsher-than-expected US tariffs by President Donald Trump.

Investor sentiment deteriorated sharply across the region, with no signs of a de-escalation in the ongoing US-China trade dispute.

The sell-off was triggered by the White House's firm stance on implementing sweeping tariffs, coupled with China's retaliatory measures, which included additional levies on US imports. China declared the markets had spoken on their retaliation through levies on US goods.

Wall Street crashed on Friday, while the US stock futures pointed to further losses. S&P 500 futures down 4...