Trading in US shares resumes after sharp fall led to automatic halt in what is being dubbed as ‘Black Monday’

Trading in US shares has been suspended as sharp falls led to an automatic halt in the selling and buying of stocks. The day has been dubbed “Black Monday” by analysts who described the market reaction as “utter carnage”.

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.

The move follows dramatic falls globally with shares facing the worst day since the 2008 financial crisis.

Oil prices lost as much as a third of their value on Monday in their biggest daily rout since the 1991 Gulf War as Saudi Arabia and Russia signalled they would hike output in a market already awash with crude after their three-year supply pact collapsed.

The situation hit the markets already reeling from fears of the impact of the coronavirus as cases continue to rise.

Via BBC / Reuters