This morning, the major stock indexes in Europe and the United States are coming under heavy selling pressure. The catalyst for the decline is once again the problems in the European Union. Bonds yields have started to rise in Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian debt. This is causing strength in the U.S. Dollar Index. When the U.S. Dollar Index strengthens most markets will deflate and trade lower. The S&P 500 Index e-mini futures (ES-M2) are trading lower by 11.75 points to 1397.00 per contact. Every trader in the world should be watching a chart of the U.S. Dollar Index at all times. Traders can do this by following the PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish (NYSEARCA:UUP).
Last night, the Asian markets were lower. The big loser was the Nikkei 225 Index (Japan) which declined by 2.29 percent. This tells us that many of the leading Japanese ADR's could be under pressure today. Leading stocks such as Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM), Sony Corporation (NYSE:SNE), and Canon Inc (NYSE:CAJ) could be in play today.