Wall Street Close: US stock indexes fall around 7%, encroaching on official bearish trend

• DJIA, ended down 2,013.76 points, or 7.8%, at 23,851.02.
• S&P 500 lost 225.81 points, or 7.6%, to end at 2,746.56.
• The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 624.94 points, or 7.3%, to end at 7,950.68.

In the biggest one-day percentage declines since 2008, US benchmarks are on the brink of official bearish territory. Sharp losses at the start of the day set-off rarely used circuit breaker that temporarily halted trading across stock markets.

US stock indexes fell around 7% follwng the weekend’s coronavirus updates and the news of an oil-price war between OPEC and Russia which sent global markets into a tailspin. Consequently, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, DJIA, ended down 2,013.76 points, or 7.8%, at 23,851.02, while the S&P 500 lost 225.81 points, or 7.6%, to end at 2,746.56, near its session low. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 624.94 points, or 7.3%, to end at 7,950.68. 

Oil prices have tanked around 20%

Analysts at ANZ bank noted that the cracks have clearly started to show in OPEC+ relations these past couple of days. “Oil prices have tanked around 20% from last week’s close as both Russia and Saudi Arabia stand ready to ramp up production at a time when global demand has taken a particularly heavy blow. If sustained, this will put downwards pressure on petrol prices at the pump, weighing on both headline CPI and inflation expectations.”

DJIA levels