What You Need to Know Before the Markets Open

The financial world looks less chaotic today than it did on what's being called Black Monday: Chinese stocks had another rough day, but European markets stabilized and American stock futures rose, reports the Wall Street Journal. The Shanghai Index closed down 7.6% and Japan's Nikkei dropped 4%, but a host of other markets (the Stoxx Europe 600, Germany's DAX, and France's CAC) were up more than 2% this morning. Meanwhile, China further tried to ease turmoil with new stimulus measures, reports CNN. It cut its main lending and deposit rates by 0.25% and made it easier for banks to lend money.

Stock futures for the Dow and the S&P 500 were up more than 3%, suggesting a higher opening this morning, reports TheStreet. Still, don't expect a sudden end to the volatility. "The US stock market is in a mode of uncertainty, at best," DoubleLine Capital's co-founder Jeffrey Gundlach tells Reuters. "You don't correct all of this in three days." Yesterday's global sell-off was triggered by the sharp drop in Chinese stocks, but experts say there was little change in economic fundamentals to justify such a massive global slide. "There was no clear catalyst for the global stock meltdown. The lack of clarity makes it difficult to assess what is needed to stem the rout," says Bernard Aw of IG Markets in a report. (The CEO of Starbucks has told workers to be nice to worried investors.)