March 18 (UPI) — A day after posting major gains on Wall Street following the Trump administration’s robust stimulus proposal, U.S. indices slid into the negative in early trading Wednesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 1,200 points after the opening bell. The S&P 500 was down more than 120 points and the Nasdaq lost about 340.
Tuesday, the Dow gained more than 1,000 points after the administration announced planned stimulus to help address the coronavirus outbreak.
Earlier Wednesday, U.S. oil prices plunged to a 17-year low in futures trading before the market opened.
West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery was down to $24.55 per barrel — its lowest level since April 2003. Brent crude slid more than 4 percent to $27.46 per barrel, a four-year low.
In addition to travel and social lockdowns worldwide, falling oil prices have resulted from Saudi Arabia and Russia declining to end their price war, which has flooded the market with supply.
Goldman Sachs on Wednesday projected Brent crude will fall to as low as $20 per barrel in the second quarter, which would be its lowest level in nearly 20 years.
Vienna-based analysts JBC Energy said the European Union closing its borders Tuesday and assembly-line shutdowns by major automakers are factors in the oil price decline.
