Dow plummets 1,500 points, S&P 500 sinks 6% amid oil price war

CNBC--Stocks cratered Monday as investors grappled with the sinking price of oil and the spread of the coronavirus. Trading was halted for 15 minutes until reopening at 9:49 a.m. ET. At one point in morning trading, the 30-stock Dow dropped 2,046 points and the S&P 500 cratered 7.4%. Investors continued to seek safer assets amid additional fears that the coronavirus will disrupt global supply chains and tip the economy into a recession. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note dropped below 0.5% for the first time ever, while the 30-year rate breached 1%. At one point early Monday, the 10-year slid to 0.318%. Saudi Arabia on Saturday slashed official crude selling prices for April, in a sudden U-turn from previous attempts to support the oil market as the coronavirus hammers global demand. 'Crude has become a bigger problem for markets than the coronavirus,' Adam Crisafulli, founder of Vital Knowledge, said Sunday. 'It will be virtually impossible for the [S&P 500] to sustainably bounce if Brent continues to crater,' he added....President Donald Trump blamed the media and the oil price war for the stock rout on Monday, arguing in a series of tweets that lower gasoline prices are 'good for the consumer.'"