I am more scared of BP oil spill then north korea and israel war.
I think the selling comes from partly real selling/shorting and hedging.
Hedging because yesterday somebody made a huge bet that by june expiration we would be at EEM 30, that would be S&P 950? The bet happened at 3:30 pm and costed over 10 million! WHo would do a gamble like that?
EEM - iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index ETF â An enormous bearish put butterfly spread comprised of 240,000 put options cast a gloomy shadow over the emerging markets fund late in afternoon trading. Shares of the EEM, an exchange-traded fund designed to provide investment results that correspond to the price and yield performance of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index â an index created to measure equity market performance in the global emerging markets, are down 0.35% at $37.21 as of 3:30 pm (ET). The massive bearish transaction on the fund suggests one big player is bracing for a potential 19% pullback in the price of the underlying shares by June expiration. The butterfly spread spans the June $25/$30/$35 strikes, with 60,000 puts picked up at the June $25 strike for a premium of $0.11 each [wing 1] and another 60,000 puts purchased at the higher June $35 strike for a premium of $0.88 apiece [wing 2]. The body of the butterfly involved the sale of 120,000 puts at the central June $30 strike for a premium of $0.27 a-pop. The net cost of the spread amounts to $0.45 per contract. The EEMâs shares must slip beneath the upper breakeven price of $34.55 before the investor starts to make money ahead of June expiration. Maximum available profits of $4.55 per contract pad the investorâs wallet if shares of the underlying fund fall 19.35% from the current price to settle at $30.00 at expiration. Shares of the EEM last traded below $34.55 back on August 19, 2009, and touched a 52-week low of $30.12 back on June 23, 2009. The investor responsible for the giant transaction only ever risks losing $0.45 per contract, but stands ready to amass more than 10 times that amount â $4.55 per contract â if shares nose-dive down to $30.00 ahead of expiration day next month.
Market makers probably had to hedge by going short.