Concerns about a possible debt default in the Middle East made investors nervous and weighed on stock and exchange traded fund (ETF) prices this morning. Investors were also concerned about the strength of the holiday shopping season.

Investors continued to fret about the announcement from Dubai World last week, which asked for a six-month repayment freeze on its debt, which totals about $60 billion. The conglomerate Dubai World is a quasi-governmental entity, so investors are worried about a possible sovereign debt default by Dubai itself, whose total debts (including Dubai World) equal about $80 billion.

What is most likely to happen is that Dubai’s neighbors – oil-rich Abu Dhabi and other members of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will most likely bail out Dubai, writes Zachary Karabell for The Wall Street Journal. The Arab countries do not want a sovereign debt default to ruin the reputation of the entire Gulf region. The WisdomTree Middle East Dividend ETF (NASDAQ: GULF) has 31.8% allocated to Qatar and 18.9% allocated to UAE. The ETF has dropped more than 13% during the last two trading days. (For more stories on the Middle East, see our Middle East category).

Today is, of course, Cyber Monday when more than 88 million consumers are expected to shop for online bargains from home and work. Many retailers such as Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) are offering consumers many great deals and discounts, reports Parija B. Kavilanz for CNNMoney. However, the busiest online shopping day tends to be later in December. The iShares Dow Jones U.S. Consumer Index Fund (NYSE: IYC) and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLY) are both up  fractionally today. (For more stories on the retail industry, please see our retail category).

Goldman Sachs Analyst Sal Tharani today upgraded the steel sector to “attractive” from “neutral.” Tharani believes the steel industry is poised to exit the recession as steel markets improve and prices improve, said the Associated Press. The Market Vectors Steel Index ETF Fund (NYSE: SLX) is up up more than 5% today and is up 89.7% year-to-date. (For more stories on the steel sector, please see our steel category).

The markets were encouraged by the Chicago PMI report. Businesses in the region expanded more in November than at any period in the prior 15 months, says Rex Nutting for MarketWatch. The index had been as low as 31.4% in January, but rose to 56.1% in November.

Tony D’Altorio contributed to this article.

Tags: Base Metals, Commodity ETFs, Emerging Markets, Frontier Markets, GULF, Industrial Metals, IYC, Middle East, Retail, Sector ETFs, XLY