Global stock markets took big dives Tuesday, and Wall Street followed.

Within minutes of the opening bell, the Dow Jones dropped almost 300 points and spent the day well below the 10,000 mark.

Stocks recovered some, but still closed down across the board.

The falling euro is partly to blame for the skepticism among investors, as well as tensions on the Korean peninsula.

"Markets are really emotional so at the end of the day, they take their cues from what they're seeing happen in the world," financial analyst Dan Arnell explained. "And there is a lot of uncertainty out there right now."

Investors are concerned the European debt crisis will cause an extended economic slump, weakening global growth.

Meanwhile, European governments are looking to cut spending to fight their currency crisis.

The euro was down again Tuesday and has fallen sharply against the dollar this year.

The budget cuts would show investors that Europe is serious about bringing spending under control and that it would be safe to invest in the euro again.

However, the cuts could also mean an end to many of the welfare benefits that Europeans have taken for granted.