Global markets were smashed on Friday night, with big losses recorded on both sides of the Atlantic.

European stocks fell to a four-week low, paring a 12th consecutive month of gains for the Stoxx 600 Index.

In London, the FTSE 100 dropped 74 points (-1.1%) to close at 6583 while the German DAX shed 51 points (-51%) to settle at 8349.

In the U.S, better-than-forecast data on business activity and consumer confidence reinforced speculation that the Federal Reserve will pare its bond purchases.

The S&P 500 dropped 23 points (-1.4%) to settle at 1631 while the blue-chip Dow Jones plunged 209 points (-1.4%) to finish the trading session at 15116.

Crude oil fell to a one-month low as OPEC kept its output target unchanged for a third consecutive time and U.S. inventories climbed to the highest level in 82 years.

Crude oil for July delivery declined $1.64 to $91.97 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest settlement since May 1.

Gold futures slumped the most in two weeks as U.S. consumer confidence climbed in May to the highest in almost six years, stoking concern that the Federal Reserve may scale back monetary stimulus.

Gold futures for August delivery fell 1.3% to settle at $1,393 an ounce on the Comex in New York.

This morning will likely be a tough one for the local market, although there was some better-than-expected data out of China on the weekend which may provide some support.

China’s official PMI data, out on Saturday, rose to 50.8 in May from 50.6 in April, beating market expectations.

At 10:30 a.m., the Melbourne Institute will release its Inflation Gauge report while at 11:30 a.m., the Australian Bureau of Statistics will release both the Retail Sales and Company Operating Profits reports.

The Reserve Bank of Australia will release the Commodity Prices report at 4:30 p.m. today.

Morning Market Update: Rock Start Ahead is a post from: Australian Stock Report Market Pulse Blog