Wall Street trade halted as S&P hits down limit

Wall Street's main indexes dropped 7% and the Dow Jones Industrials crashed 2,000 points in what would be its biggest one-day fall ever, as trading resumed on Monday following a 22% slump in oil prices.

Trading on US stock exchanges was halted immediately after opening on Monday, as the S&P 500 fell 7%, triggering an automatic 15 minute cutout put in place after the 2008-9 financial crisis.

Saudi Arabia's move to raise oil production significantly after OPEC's supply cut agreement with Russia collapsed sent ripples across global financial markets already panicking about the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

Crude oil logged its worst day in almost three decades, sending oil majors Chevron Corp and Exxon Mobil Corp down more than 9%. The energy index slumped 20.1%.

At 9:54 am ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1,791.85 points, or 6.93%, at 24,072.93 and the S&P 500 was down 195.93 points, or 6.59%, at 2,776.44. The Nasdaq Composite was down 530.62 points, or 6.19%, at 8,045.00.

- Reuters