United States stock futures had significantly declined last Sunday. Investors were found wary about an economic fallout that may result from the public health crisis, including the all-out price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average took a direct hit from the public health crisis and lost 1,078 points at Monday's trading session. The S&P 500 futures also declined by four percent.
According to CNBC, the sharp declines of US stock futures may result in a more turbulent a roller-coaster week for financial markets. The S&P 500 futures, in particular, have been fluctuating for more than 2.5 percent in the last four days.
Saudi Arabia also announced that it would be slashing official crude oil selling prices last Saturday. The report claimed that for April, global demand in the oil market would also adversely affect US stock futures in the coming months.
The country's decisions came after OPEC talks failed last Friday. Strategists allegedly expect oil prices to rise by 20 USD this year. According to the founder of Vital Knowledge Adam Crisafulli, crude has been adversely affecting global markets significantly compared to the public health crisis.
Crisafulli added that it would be near impossible for the S&P 500 index to recover if Brent would continue to crater the oil decisions. At present, the international benchmark for crude futures has decreased by 30 percent at 32.05 per barrel. The US West, Texas Intermediate crude, was also down by 27 percent at 30 USD per barrel.
Investors have since been looking for safer assets since stock values have dipped since the spread of the global health crisis. The 10-year US treasury benchmark even declined by 0.7 percent for the first time on Friday as bond prices move inversely with yields.
According to MUFG Union Bank's chief financial economist Chris Rupkey, the lowered gasoline prices would put more cash for workers and boost consumer spending. Rupkey, however, noted that this had not eased stock market investors' confidence.
He added that the investors want to get out of the market before more significant losses turn to their disadvantage. He also said that Wall Street and the US economy would suffer from declining investor confidence in the market as well.
Apart from US stock futures, copper prices also hit an all-time low and ended at 2.46 USD. It posed as a barometer of broad economic demand due to its applications in manufacturing and electrical equipment products.
Last week, the US Federal Reserve cut interest rates by half a percentage point. It claimed that this mandate would protect small to medium-sized enterprises from the adverse effects of the global health crisis on the market.
