Despite a four day week of trading, most traders were cautious in their moves, taking profits on short selling and the like as they feared a quick reversal and the wrath of a Santa Claus rally.

But the rally didn’t come and at this point, it appears the Bulls didn’t get their Christmas wish.

Markets fell on Tuesday rather significantly as investors became concerned over the European debt crisis and the extent at which the European Central Bank will have to lend. The euro dropped below $1.30 in trading.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 139 points early in trading on Wednesday, keeping a tight range and settling at 12,151. The S&P 500 dropped 1.25% to 1249, taking it underneath the support level of 1251.

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was perhaps the star of Wednesday’s trading as investors fled equities, precious metals and the euro. The VIX climbed 7.3% to 23.5, indicating that fear has increased among market participants.

Gold has continued to sell off en masse, hitting lows unseen since 2009. Spot gold was trading around $1553 an ounce at 4:00PM ET on Wednesday. Silver sold off over 6%, falling to $27 an ounce.

With the ECB having lent out nearly $500 billion with more to come, European nations will need to pull out all stops to rekindle love for their assets.