· Wall Street tumbles as oil crash stirs pandemic fears
Wall Street tumbled for a second straight day on Tuesday as a collapse in U.S. oil prices and glum forecasts by companies worsened fears of a deep economic downturn.
During Tuesday's session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 2.67% to end at 23,018.88 points, while the S&P 500 .SPX lost 3.07% to 2,736.57.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 3.48% to 8,263.23.
All 11 S&P 500 sector indexes fell 1.6% or more, with energy .SPNY sliding for the seventh time in eight sessions a day after the WTI contract CLc1 crashed below zero as oil traders ran out of storage for May deliveries.
With the collapse spilling into June futures contracts, equity investors became wary of the extent of the economic damage from sweeping lockdown measures that have halted business activity and sparked millions of layoffs.
· Stock futures rise, rebounding from two days of steep losses
U.S. stock futures pointed to modest gains at the open on Wednesday, following recent weakness in markets aggravated by oil’s massive decline.
Dow futures rose 70 points, indicating a gain of about 0.4% at the open. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were also slated to open higher, with gains of 0.3% and 0.6%, respectively. The West Texas Intermediate contract for June delivery rebounded in evening trading, popping 15% to above $13 a barrel.
Helping sentiment, Senate Republicans and Democrats passed on Tuesday evening a $484 billion coronavirus relief package for small businesses, hospitals and testing. The House could approve the bill as early as Thursday.
· European shares close 3% lower on oil plunge; basic resources down almost 6%
European markets closed sharply lower on Tuesday as oil market volatility and the coronavirus outbreak remained in focus.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed down over 3% provisionally, driven lower by basic resources stocks, which cratered almost 6%. All sectors and major bourses finished below the flatline.
Oil markets have come into sharp focus after dramatic moves in prices Monday as the coronavirus dents demand and concerns over production storage grow.
· Asia stocks decline following continued rout in oil
Stocks in Asia Pacific declined in Wednesday morning on the back of sharp losses in the oil markets overnight.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 1.63% in early trade while the Topix index slipped 1.31%.
South Korea’s Kospi also dropped 1.3% while the Kosdaq index shed 1.1%. Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 declined 1.1%
Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 0.34% lower.
In the oil markets, the June contract for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) attempted to rebound from its Tuesday losses as it jumped 18.93% to $13.76 per barrel. U.S. crude prices have seen sharp losses in recent days, with the June contract for WTI falling more than 40% on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, international Brent crude futures added 3.05% to $19.92 per barrel, having plunged from levels above $24 per barrel on Tuesday.
Reference: CNBC, Reuters
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