How to Protect Yourself from Today's Stock Market Crash

Today's Stock Market Crash: The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted more than 1,000 points, or 6%, in early trading today (Monday) as the rout in global stocks deepened. Traders around the world have coined today "Black Monday."

The S&P 500 dropped as much as 120 points, while the Nasdaq dipped 393 points at today's low.

Today's massive drops in U.S. markets were prompted by a stock market crash in China. The Shanghai Composite cratered more than 8.5% on Monday. With the drop, China's stock market is now in the red for 2015.

Worries about slowing economic growth in the world's second-largest economy have caused the Shanghai Stock Exchange to fall more than 37% in just two months.

European stocks are not faring any better today. The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 6.9%, while Germany's DAX dipped 4%. The UK FTSE fell 4.4% and hit its lowest mark since January 2013.

Japan's Nikkei index was down 4.6% today.

But it's not just China's economic woes that are pushing markets lower. The U.S. Federal Reserve's plan to raise interest rates, the continually falling price of oil, and the economic woes of Greece and Japan are all weighing on global stocks...

"There's just no good news left to lift stocks higher," Money Morning Capital Wave Strategist Shah Gilani said today. "There's no market leadership from any industry, other than the brief momentum runs made by some tech darlings and a bunch of hot biotech companies promising next-century solutions... to yesterday's problems."

While most investors are panicking, there are several steps you can take to protect yourself from today's stock market crash...