August 3, 2016 -- Nervous traders sold U.S. stocks yesterday and bought precious metals. Tuesday's selling was the seventh, and heaviest, day of losses for the Dow-Jones.

Presidential hopeful Donald Trump may have contributed by declaring he "got out" of stocks and warned of "very scary scenarios" ahead. He is concerned that ultra-loose monetary policy, including interest rates near zero, have pushed stocks to unsustainable highs.

But events in Japan likely drove more of the selling in global markets. The Yen rose dramatically and Japanese bonds plummeted. The central bank announced details of a far more limited stimulus package than markets anticipated.

And the troubles in the European banking sector aren't helping confidence either. A broad index of Euro Zone lenders lost nearly 5%, following on losses of almost 3% on Monday. Investors worry about large and still growing numbers of loans in default as well as dwindling bank profits in the face of extraordinarily low interest rates. In fact, shares for a number of Europe's largest banks are now trading below their 2008 crisis lows.

Live prices at MoneyMetals.com show gold currently trading at $1,365.15 per ounce on the global market, and silver is coming in at $20.63.