Oil Turmoil Craters Dow By 1200 Points In 48 Hours

Roll Call reports:

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged more than 1,200 points, or 5 percent, in the first two days of trading this week amid turmoil in energy markets. On Tuesday, the Dow Jones closed down 631.6 points, or 2.7 percent, and the S&P 500 closed down 86.6, or 3.1 percent.

The losses followed record lows for oil on Monday, when futures for May fell into negative territory for the first time as demand collapsed and traders scrambled for storage capacity.

Producers ended up paying buyers to take oil off their hands for much of the trading day, though the numbers reentered positive territory by Monday’s closing bell. President Trump on Tuesday floated the possibility of providing government funds to support the struggling sector.

Just spoke to my friend MBS (Crown Prince) of Saudi Arabia, who spoke with President Putin of Russia, & I expect & hope that they will be cutting back approximately 10 Million Barrels, and maybe substantially more which, if it happens, will be GREAT for the oil & gas industry!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 2, 2020