BUSINESSINSIDER
The US stock market plunged as much as 7% immediately after regular trading began on Monday, prompting the first halt since the depths of the financial crisis in December 2008.
The losses came amid a raging global oil-price war and continued fallout from the coronavirus. All three major US indices tanked as investors mulled the oil markets chaos between Saudi Arabia and Russia. The virus’s rising US death toll prompted new fears of an economic slowdown. Coronavirus is so far responsible for 21 deaths and 554 infections throughout the US. Stocks plummeted 7% at Monday’s market open, prompting the first market-wide trading halt since the depths of the financial crisis in December 2008. The losses came as an oil price war and the escalating coronavirus hammered risk assets from all sides. The three major US indices declined as equities investors digested the weekend’s oil market news for the first time. The commodity tanked the most since 1991 on Monday morning after Saudi Arabia’s surprise price cuts kicked off a production war with Russia. The move follows Russia’s refusal to curb oil production on Friday to prop up the coronavirus-rattled market.
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