New York (AFP)
The New York Stock Exchange fell sharply Tuesday at the start of the session, again weakened by the fall in oil prices.
Around 2:00 p.m. GMT, the Wall Street star index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, lost 1.55% to 23,282.78 points.
The highly technological Nasdaq dropped 1.51% to 8,431.38 points, and the S&P 500, which represents the 500 largest companies on Wall Street, fell 1.44% to 2,782.48 points.
Wall Street had ended in red on Monday after the unprecedented plunge in the price of a barrel of crude traded in New York, whose contract for delivery in May had ended below zero dollar: the Dow Jones had lost 2.44% and Nasdaq 1.79%.
"The turmoil in the crude oil market continues to worry investors and exacerbate volatility," note analysts at Charles Schwab.
West Texas Intermediate barrel of New York for delivery in May, which is the last day of trading, closed at around -38 dollars Monday as investors are willing to pay to get rid of their black gold contract in a market close to saturation.
Oil prices continued to be under pressure on Tuesday, with WTI crude for June delivery dropping nearly 30%, and North Sea Brent crude oil for delivery on the same date yielding more than 23%.
The black gold market has been in free fall for several weeks while travel restrictions in many countries and the paralysis of many economies due to the pandemic have caused global consumption to melt.
Another subject that caught the attention of market players on Tuesday: negotiations between Democrat parliamentarians and the White House to unlock a second wave of federal loans to help American SMEs ravaged by the coronavirus crisis.
Despite optimistic statements last weekend from Democratic and Republican officials, no vote has yet been held.
On the bond market, the 10-year rate on the American debt fell to 0.5691% against 0.6053% the day before at the close.
© 2020 AFP