Dow drops 500 points as oil crashes to its lowest level in 21 years

• US stocks sank Monday, reversing Friday's gains.
• WTI crude oil fell as much as 41% to $10.77 per barrel, its lowest price in more than 21 years.
• A group of big technology companies — including the so-called FAANG stocks — are set to report first-quarter earnings this week. It will be the first period to show the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on business.
• Read more on Business Insider.

US stocks fell Monday as oil prices crashed to their lowest levels in more than 21 years.

The losses in oil came amid plummeting demand due to the coronavirus pandemic, which is offsetting historic production cuts. WTI crude oil fell as much as 41% to $10.77 per barrel.

Investors also weighed how the virus will impact a slew of technology earnings coming up this week. A number of big technology companies are getting ready to report first-quarter earnings expected to show the impact of the virus. IBM, Netflix,Snap, and Intel all report in coming days.

Here's where major US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. ET market open on Monday:

• S&P 500: 2,829.87, down 1.6%
• Dow Jones industrial average: 23,736.70, down 2.1% (506 points)
• Nasdaq composite: 8,575.86, down 0.9%

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Monday's slump reverses gains from Friday, when all three major indexes gained and the S&P 500 ended the week 27% above its recent low on March 23. Stocks rose on hopes that the US economy would soon start to reopen after sweeping lockdowns to curb the spread of COVID-19.

But that stood in stark contrast to a number of negative economic indicators released last week showing the severe damages from the virus to the US economy.

"Without a vaccine and proper treatment, life will not return to normal and spending behaviour will continue to adjust to this new reality," Hussein Sayed, chief market strategist at FXTM told Business Insider. "Equity performance cannot diverge for a prolonged period of time from fundamentals, so if we do not see a true economic recovery in the coming months, expect another leg lower in stock markets."

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