The following should not be considered financial advice. If you are looking for financial advice, I recommend speaking to an expert who is not vested in the stock market system. I'm just explaining what has been explained to me in the clearest way possible.

Some background on the global market crash

While we in America were still sleeping, in Japan, the stock market there was crashing. Traders has been borrowing against the yen at 0% and investing that money elsewhere. Then, rates went up. Suddenly they were upside down in their investments, which means they owed more than the investments were worth. Stocks fell further and further throughout the day. The Japanese market, the Nikkei, crashed 4,451.28 points –  its largest-ever loss in terms of points.

It didn't take long for the carnage to spread across Asia. South Korea and Taiwan also hit historic lows.