Stocks plummet after oil prices collapse

U.S. stocks were shaken deeply into the red Monday after oil traders desperate to unload near-term contracts for their vital commodity sold at a loss.

Oil prices plunged below zero, the latest never-before-seen number to come out of the economic coma caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

A barrel of benchmark U.S. oil for May delivery fell to negative $37.60 per barrel as traders sought to avoid owning crude oil with nowhere to store it.

Prices for other oil contracts also plummeted as storage facilities for crude approach their limits.

The Dow Jones Industrials fell 2.44% or 592 points. The S&P 500 fell 1.8%, giving up some of the big gains from its first back-to-back weekly gain since February.