- WTI drops to its lowest level since March 1999 below $12 on Monday.
- S&P 500 Energy Index suffers heavy losses in early trade.
- CBOE Volatility Index rises more than 10% amid flight to safety.
Wall Street’s main indexes started the first day of the week deep in the negative territory as plunging crude oil prices weighed heavily on energy shares. As of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.86% on the day at 23,795 points while the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 were erasing 0.55% and 1.3%, respectively.
Oil selloff intensifies
With the West Texas Intermediate erasing more than 30% on a daily basis and trading below $12 for the first time since March 1999, the S&P 500 Energy Index fell sharply. After losing as much as 6% within minutes after the opening bell, the index recovered modestly and was last down 3.7% on a daily basis.
Meanwhile, investors seem to be taking a cautious stance ahead of this week’s key first-quarter earnings figures. Reflecting the risk-averse environment, the CBOE Volatility Index, Wall Street’s fear gauge is up 10.7% on the day.
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