Markets Slammed On Euro Debt Issues

The stock market is falling hard today. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF SPY is trading at $132.36, -2.04 (-1.52%). This massive drop in stocks is mostly due to fears over Italy. After Greece received its aid package bailout just two weeks ago, the next domino has started to fall. Spain and Portugal are most likely nearing a fall as well. The Euro is tanking on the European debt issues. This is causing the Dollar to surge to the upside. The stronger Dollar is putting more pressure on the U.S. markets. The PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish UUP is sharply higher, trading at $21.67, +0.25 (1.17%). This drop in the markets is coming on the back of a monstrous rally in the markets over the last two weeks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up more than 6% in less than two weeks. Friday, the rally finally started to fail as the Non Farm Payrolls numbers came in sharply below expectations. With just 18,000 jobs created last month, the markets dropped. All sectors are taking a hit today but banks are under extreme pressure. This is due to their exposure to credit default swaps, stemming from the issues in Europe. Should European countries default, a new financial crisis would erupt. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. GS is trading at $131.85, -2.23 (-1.66%), JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM is trading at $39.52, -1.22 (-2.99%) and Wells Fargo & Company WFC is trading at $27.65, -0.65 (-2.30%). Gareth Soloway InTheMoneyStocks.com