It was another night of weakness for international markets as the cost of insuring against default of European sovereign debt approached a record.

In Europe, the FTSE shed 123 points (-2.3%) to settle at 5367, whilst the CAC (-3.3%) and DAX (-1.7%) also endured tough sessions.

Stateside, stocks slumped as weak commodity prices triggered a selloff in the energy and materials sectors.

The Dow Jones lost 131 points (-1.1%) to settle at 11824, whilst the S&P 500 (-1.1%) and Nasdaq (1.5%) suffered similar falls.

The euro slid below $1.30 for the first time since January amid signs of increased funding stress in the eurozone.

Oil fell sharply overnight, slumping US$5.19 to US$94.95 a barrel. Renewed fears about Europe´s debt crisis triggered selling after OPEC increased their production ceiling.

Base metal prices were lower on the LME, falling between 2% – 5.2% as the stronger US dollar and eurozone fears weighed. Copper ended at a two-week low.

Gold was another major loser, diving US$86.50 (-5.2%) to US$1,576.60 an ounce.

Today's session will bring us data in the form of MI inflation expectations, new motor vehicle sales, and the latest RBA bulletin, all slated for release at 11:30am, AEDT.

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Morning Market Analysis: SPI Expiry is a post from: Australian Stock Report Market Pulse Blog