- Energy stocks (XLE -1%) are well off their early morning lows even as WTI front-month crude oil tumbles more than 40% to as low as $10.34/bbl, the lowest since April 1986 on an intraday basis.
- May WTI -41.6% to $10.66/bbl and June WTI -8.2% to $22.97/bbl; June Brent -5.2% to $26.62/bbl.
- The gigantic spread is the result of the drop in demand due to the coronavirus and the glut of global crude supply hitting the markets all at once; as a result, futures traders, who would normally be able to shift from the expiring contract to the next, are finding very few buyers for the expiring May contract.
- Shares are broadly lower but off earlier lows: OXY -6.4%, RDS.A -3.7%, TOT -3.6%, BP -3.4%, HP -3.3%, XOM -2.5%, MRO -2.4%.
- ETFs: XLE, XOP, OIH, XES