Stocks went down for the second session in a row, after an unexpected reduction in the service sector. Investors  worry that the recession is more and more probable. The index of the Institute for Supply Management dropped to 44.6 last month from a revised reading of 54.4 in December 2007. A reading below 50 indicates contraction and it was the first service-sector reduction in more than four years. Analysts were expecting another month of expansion.

The assistance of the Federal Reserve's interest rate cuts in January could also help encourage the service sector back into growth this year.

As for the European markets, all the indexes slumped, IBEX lost 5.39% and FTSE 2.63%. We reckon that below 5800 points, the FTSE future could hit quickly the following support at 5680 points.