The Bleeding Continues In Asia - Japan Down 2%

Markets are open in Asia, and they are deep in the red.

Japan's Nikkei is down 1.9%.

Korea's Kospi is down 1.4%.

Australia's S&P ASX is down 1.4%.

This follows an ugly U.S. trading session where the Dow plunged 326 points (2.0%) and the Nasdaq fell 106 points (2.6%).

On Tuesday, we learned that the ISM manufacturing index dropped to 51.3 in January from 56.5 in December. Economists were looking for a reading of 56.0. The new orders sub-index collapsed to 51.2 from 64.4.

"We can say ignore today's decline, it is due to inclement weather, but we really have to wait to see if the number bounces back after the weather warms back up in the next few months," said Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi's Chris Rupkey. "Manufacturing caught a cold this month, keeping our fingers crossed it is not the start of something more serious."