The stock market plunged again Monday morning, falling so much that trading was halted for 15 minutes. Investors continue to have worries about the spread of COVID-19. Making matters worse, the price of crude oil plummeted after Saudi Arabia instigated a price war with Russia over the weekend.
Crude oil experienced its biggest drop since the Gulf War in 1991. Baltimore's largest public companies all saw their stock prices decline as the market got hammered. Colfax Corp. and Under Armour Inc. were among the hardest hit. Colfax, an Annapolis Junction-based industrial conglomerate, saw its shares fall more than 13% to $26.35.
Shares of Baltimore-based Under Armour dropped almost 7% to $11.63, the first time they fell to below $12 since October 2017. Overall, the S&P 500 fell 7% by 9:34 a.m., triggering a market circuit breaker to pause trading for 15 minutes. By mid-day, the S&P 500 had fallen 5.4%. The Dow Jones industrial lost almost 1,500 points, or 5.8%, and is on pace for its worst day since 2008.
For the S&P 500, it is the worst day since August 2011. The Nasdaq composite dropped 5%. Stocks have been falling since the novel coronavirus began spreading more widely outside of China, where it originated, a couple of weeks ago. The breakdown in talks between Saudi Arabia and Russia comes after the sides had been negotiating on production cuts meant to help prop up demand.
