Although the trading session is light on economic data releases and earnings, this continues to be a volatile session. Uncertainty in the geopolitical realm appeared to be the culprit behind the selloff, even as the press conference with President Obama and German Chancellor Merkel was being televised. The primary focus of the meeting between the US and Germany is centered on Russia and Ukraine, however there’s a bigger problem in the Eurozone. Greece’s new, leftist prime minister is not accepting an extension to Greece’s bailout, which is in turn setting up an anticipated clash with most European leaders. If Greece is going to be forced out of the Eurozone, it is inevitable that other countries will follow. As such, concerns over the stability of the euro are causing global markets to selloff.

Economic data was extremely light during today’s session; however there was one lesser-known release that goes hand-in-hand with the jobs report from Friday. While there was improvement in the jobs market in January, the Federal Reserve’s Labor Market Conditions Index, which weighs 19 different economic indicators, dropped to a reading of 4.9 in January. This is substantially lower than the revised 7.3 reading in December and the lowest reading since September 2014. The Federal Reserve doesn’t offer commentary on monthly moves in the index, but in a separate reading from the Conference Board, it noted that its employment trend index rose to 127.9 in January, up from 127.2 in December, a 7.6% gain from the same month one year ago. Ultimately, this reading notes that strong job growth is likely to continue through the first half of the year. So the results remain conflicting. The chart below shows that the outlook has failed to show any major optimistic outlook beyond the recession.