Dow Futures Hit Max Losses, Market Opens Down 400 Points

What has investors spooked? That's the question today as headlines role out claiming "Bloody Friday" and the market opens with the bears growling.

The Dow Futures were at their lowest low before the open, sinking 550 points before hitting their limit. Consequently the Dow is hovering around a 401 point loss just 10 minutes after the open.

Many financial analysts are pointing to Sony's 2009 projected fiscal earnings cut as a major catalyst to the selling. Asian stocks plummeted after Sony announced that it may have to pull back on capital spending as a result of the eroding economic climate. Cuts such as these would result in plant closures and job cuts in order to keep profits up, reports The Wall Street Journal.

The numbers are bad, and so much of this is investor psychology. While Sony and Yahoo are making major employment cuts, causing the markets to swing wildly downward, Microsoft, Apple, and Google are shoring up major profit gains in the same sector and we're seeing no bounce in the overall market.

People are scared, bottom line. They want to see solid gains before they jump in for the long haul, and right now there is just too much volatility.