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US shares drop sharply on oil fears | US shares drop sharply on oil fears |
(about 2 hours later) | |
(Close): Leading US stock indexes declined sharply on Monday, as plunging oil prices worried investors. | |
The Dow Jones fell 331.34 points, or 1.86%, to close at 17,501.65. | |
The broader S&P 500 index shed 37.62 points, or 1.83%, to 2,020.58, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq slipped 74.24 points or 1.57% to 4,652.57. | |
The US oil price briefly fell below $50 per barrel for the first time since April 2009. | |
Known as West Texas Intermediate crude, it finished the day at $50.04, a 5% drop. | |
The benchmark Brent crude oil price also fell significantly, dropping 6% to $53.03 per barrel. | |
Oil firms Exxon Mobil and Chevron saw their shares fall as a result. | Oil firms Exxon Mobil and Chevron saw their shares fall as a result. |
Shares in Exxon closed down 2.7% and Chevron fell 4%. | |
Industrial machinery giant Caterpillar also saw its share price slip by more than 5.28% as investors worried about the firm's exposure to the energy sector. |