Exchanges ended in negative territory, pressured by a historic selloff in the oil market that took the US crude prices to negative values, something never seen before.
The Dow Jones closed down 2.44% to 23,650.44 points, in what was its worst session since April 1.
Standard & Poor’s 500 fell by 1.79% to 2,823.16 points and the technological Nasdaq Composite fell 1.03% to settle at 8,560.63 points.
The prices of North American crude futures (WTI) for delivery in May entered for the first time in its history in negative territory (it even traded at -40 dollars per barrel), at a time when the demand for this raw material continues and the storage capacity in the USA is reaching its limit.
The fact that the May contracts are due to expire tomorrow has led to the closing of many positions, with traders preferring longer terms, which helped to lower prices.
Oil production quotes were thus the most punished in this Tuesday's session on Wall Street.
In contrast, the companies that own supertankers - who are filling up with crude due to the lack of land space to store it - have gained a lot of ground, with Frontline climbing 15% and Teekay, Scorpio Tankers and Nordic American Tankers to shoot around 20%.
