Stock Markets Stay Sharply Lower As Trading Halt Lifts

S&P 500, Dow fall sharply as investors push U.S. Treasury yields to fresh record lows.

Markets shuddered Monday—with U.S. stocks falling hard enough to trigger a trading halt—as a price war for oil and the economic fallout from the coronavirus frightened investors, who sought shelter in the safety of government bonds and propelled yields to unprecedented lows.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 both fell 7% at the open, a drop that triggered circuit breakers that halted trading for 15 minutes. After reopening, stocks fell a bit more, then recovered a bit, with the S&P 500 down 5.9%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 1,565, or 6.1% to 24272. The Nasdaq Composite slid 5.6%.

All 11 sectors in the S&P 500 were down, led by energy, which at one point slid 10%. Financials were down 3.3%, and materials were down 2.6%.

Saudi Arabia’s decision over the weekend to instigate a price war as it escalates a clash with Russia sent oil prices down by the most since the Gulf War in January 1991. Crude prices, along with U.S. government bond yields, are typically viewed as key barometers of economic health and confidence, said Gregory Perdon, co-chief investment officer at private bankers Arbuthnot Latham.