After the largest stock sell-off in six months, the Dow ended down for the year at market's close yesterday, adding selling pressure to world markets opening today.
It's not entirely clear what caused the sell-off yesterday, but it could be due to a variety of factors.
Banco Espirito, the Portuguese bank, reported a record loss yesterday which prompted its stock to drop 40%. Another cause for uncertainty is Argentina is expected to default on some of its bonds.
There are also many new economic indicator reports due for release today, including the U.S. and global manufacturing Purchasing Manager's Index.
With each day there is growing unease over escalating tensions in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, which is another strong motivator for investors to hedge their portfolios. This week the U.S. and Europe increased economic sanctions against Russia over the situation in Ukraine and Russia has recently entered into new trade agreements with Iran, North Korea, and India.
British Prime Minister David Cameron has compared Russia's recent actions to those of Germany just before the outbreak of World War II. He told the Telegraph that the UK was committed to resolving the crisis by economic means and that Britain would not start World War III over Ukraine.
With the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and ISIS continuing to strengthen and gain support for dividing Iraq into separate states, many are worried about more than just what is happening in Eastern Europe.
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