International finance:The Bloodletting Continues In The Stock Market

U.S. stocks closed lower on Wednesday and Thursday. That’s not something we’re used to seeing too much lately.This morning, the bloodletting continues. The S&P 500 is trading near 1644, down 0.4%.

This comes after a totally insane session in Japan again Friday, which saw the market rally 3% in the early going before going red in the afternoon and then bouncing back by a hair late in the day.

European markets closed in the red across the board. Spain took the worst of it there, ending down 1.0%.

In commodities, WTI crude oil is down 0.4%, while metals and agricultural commodities are down pretty much across the board.

Ten-year Treasury yields are a basis point lower at 2.01%, while Italian and Spanish government bond yields widened 11 and 12.5 basis points to 4.12% and 4.40%, respectively.

Durable goods orders surprised to the upside this morning, but the release was unable to break  down markets.