The Dow Jones Industrial Average started the year quite inauspiciously, dropping over 400 points amid economic slowdown in China and geopolitical angst in the Middle East. These trends are the same that negatively impacted global trading in 2015, prompting the Dow to decline 2.2 percent at the time, reported USA Today. However, the Dow wasn't alone in feeling the pain - the S&P 500 declined more than 2 percent in early trading, while the NASDAQ composite dropped more than 2.5 percent.
These loses came as China's Shanghai Composite Index dropped nearly 7 percent following a weak manufacturing reading, which prompted a momentary trading suspension, according to Market Watch. Other Asian markets fell into the red due to China's losses, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropping 3.1 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropping 2.7 percent and South Korea's Kospi dropping 2.2 percent.
Experts were quick to blame China for Monday's slow start.
"A lot of it has to do with China and a lot of it is overdone," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities, according to CNBC. "The China PMI hasn't changed much. It's not unusual to have an outsized reaction when you've got a base case that 2016 could be a tough year."
"I think it's very much global markets are in a risk-off mode. It's very hard to step in the way of (that)," he added.
European stocks were hardly better off with Germany's DAX 30 down more than 4 percent, Paris' CAC 40 down 2.5 percent and the STOXX Europe 600 down 2.3 percent. This in particular was disheartening for traders since that index had gained 6.8 percent in 2015.
In the meantime, oil and gold prices were higher following the tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Wall Street's bad start could be an ill omen for the rest of the year. Records indicate that 72 percent of the time, U.S. stocks finish the year in the same direction as what's experienced in January.
