![\"Oil](\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/MW-IE846_oil_fi_20200421092030_ZG-1200x675.jpg\")
Published: April 21, 2020 at 4:28 p.m. ET, By Chris Matthews and Mark DeCambre<\/p>\n
U.S. stocks closed sharply lower Tuesday, driving the major indexes to their lowest levels in about two weeks, as high-flying technology shares gave up ground, and a historic collapse in oil prices eroded the bullish mood on Wall Street.<\/p>\n
The downbeat atmosphere more than offset reported progress in Washington on additional aid for businesses badly hurt by the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n
How did benchmarks perform?<\/strong><\/p>\n The Dow Jones Industrial Average US:DJIA fell 631.56 points, or 2.7%, at 23,018, the S&P 500 index US:SPX lost 86.60 points, or 3.1%, to close at 2,736.56, with both benchmarks finishing at their lowest levels since April 7, according to FactSet data. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite Index US:COMP retreated 297.50 points, or 3.5%, to end at 8,263.23, marking its lowest close since April 13.<\/p>\n What\u2019s driving the market?<\/strong><\/p>\n A historic slump in oil prices weighed on sentiment as investors worried that plunging demand for the commodity would dent a key sector for U.S. employment and investment and signal a deeply depressed global economy.<\/p>\n Tuesday\u2019s action comes a day after West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery US:CLK20, which expired at the end of the Tuesday\u2019s trade, fell $55.90 a barrel, or 306%, to settle in negative territory for the first time in history<\/a>.<\/p>\n Even though the energy sector is relatively small compared with the market as a whole, big declines can undermine risk sentiment and spark worries about defaults in the oil-and-gas sector, adding to the likely recessionary environment created by the pandemic.<\/p>\n \u201cThe biggest thing to focus on is how quickly and how robustly demand will come back after this,\u201d Raghavendran Sivaraman, Columbia Threadneedle\u2019s head of systematic strategies told MarketWatch.<\/p>\n He views recent U.S. fiscal and monetary stimulus as helping to bridge workers and businesses, but expects stocks to remain volatile until there is more clarity on what consumption patterns emerge once the contagion subsides.<\/p>\n President Donald Trump said in a tweet Tuesday morning<\/a> that he\u2019s instructed the Treasury secretary to craft a plan to provide financial aid to the oil-and-gas industry, \u201cso these very important companies and jobs will be secured long into the future.\u201d<\/p>\n Technology-sector stocks also were under pressure Tuesday, after Wall Street analysts cut their price targets for Alphabet Inc. and Facebook<\/a>. and warned about further weakness in online advertising sales.<\/p>\n The drama overshadowed efforts by some U.S. states, including Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas, to ease restrictions on businesses and consumers that were put in place to combat the spread of COVID-19.<\/p>\n CNN reported that Congress has reached a deal<\/a> to provide $450 billion of additional funding to U.S. small businesses hurt by the coronavirus pandemic, with the Senate attempting to pass the measure later today, after lawmakers provided a roughly $350 billion package that was exhausted last week.<\/p>\n Markets also were monitoring North Korea amid speculation about a possible political upheaval brewing in the isolated nation<\/a> after unconfirmed reports indicate that Kim Jong Un is fragile after recovering from heart surgery. The reports say Kim hasn\u2019t made a public appearance since April 11.<\/p>\n \u201cSo succession risk is causing global equity markets to buckle,\u201d wrote Stephen Innes, global chief market strategist at AxiCorp, in a daily research note on Monday.<\/p>\n