International markets lost ground overnight, as frayed nerves regarding Europe's sovereign debt weighed on investors.

In Europe, the FTSE lost 86 points (-1.6%) to settle at 5423, whilst the CAC (-1.8%) and DAX (-1.1%) were also weaker.

Stateside, the Dow Jones shed 135 points (-1.1%) to settle at 11771, whilst the S&P 500 (-1.7%) and Nasdaq (-2%) lost even more ground.

Heavy selling in the S&P futures contracts midsession pushed the index through key technical levels and accelerated the selling, with relatively thin trading leaving few buyers to provide support.

Other than that there was no single driver for the move lower, although ongoing concerns about Europe continued to cast a dark cloud over the market.

The pound strengthened against the US dollar, snapping a three-session slide after data showed UK retail sales unexpectedly rose in October.

The euro also strengthened against the majority of its most-traded peers following a decline in Italian bond yields.

Oil retreated sharply, shedding 3.7% and slipping back below US$100 a barrel in the process.

There is no major local data due out during today's session.

Click to Receive FREE Trading Recommendations!

Morning Market Analysis: Bulls Lay Down is a post from: Australian Stock Report Market Pulse Blog