Wall Street opened to bloodshed on Monday, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 7.3% – 1,884.88 points – in its first moments of trading, before the built-in circuit breakers stopped action during 15 minutes to stop losses. The S&P 500 also fell 7% before regulators slowed down. When trading resumed, the indices continued to fall freely. If the losses reach 13%, the New York Stock Exchange will cease trading again. Overnight, oil prices fell more than 30% – the worst loss in a day since the 1991 Gulf War – and financial and credit markets contracted worldwide as the effects of the new coronavirus epidemic has sparked new concerns about a global economic recession. The fading in the oil markets came as Saudi Arabia dramatically increased production – despite the glut caused by weak demand due to the spread of the coronavirus – pushing oil prices down to $ 30 a barrel. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has ordered the kingdom’s oil industry to try to grab market shares from Russia and the United States after the supply-reduction agreement collapsed on Friday OPEC with the Kremlin. The MBS decision sparked panic in already nervous global markets, fueled by new fears about COVID-19 cases in the United States and Italy, with more than 110,000 people in 100 countries now affected. Stocks fell in Asia and European markets fell 6%.
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