Oil price goes negative as demand collapses; stocks dip

NEW YORK (AP) - Oil prices plunged below zero on Monday as demand for energy collapses amid the coronavirus pandemic and traders sought to avoid owning crude oil with nowhere to store it.

A barrel of benchmark U.S. oil for May delivery fell to negative $35.20 per barrel.

While the foray into negative territory was largely due to technical reasons, prices for other oil contracts also plummeted as storage facilities for crude approach their limits.

The S&P 500 was down 1.2%, giving up some of the big gains from its first back-to-back weekly gain since February.