Global markets weakened overnight, extending Friday night's rout into the new week amid growing concerns over emerging market economies.

It was a tumultuous finish on Wall Street at the end of last week, with the Dow sinking 2% Friday for its biggest one-day sell-off since June.

It was a similar story elsewhere, as investors react to a downward spiral in some emerging market currencies, caused in part by disruptions from Fed stimulus tapering.

Last night benchmark US indices bounced off their lows after an upbeat earnings report from Caterpillar helped eased concerns over US corporate profitability.

The Dow shed 41 points (-0.3%) to 15838, the S&P500 fell eight points (-0.5%) to 1782 and the Nasdaq let go of 44 points (-1.1%) to 4084.

The losses weren't as severe in commodity markets, with gold weakening a touch as the slide in equities supported demand for safe haven metals.

Fears over emerging market economies have weighed heavily on resource-linked currencies like the Aussie and Kiwi.

Our dollar slid to its lowest against the greenback in three and a half years before recovering slightly in last night's session.

There is no major economic data due for release today.

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