S&P 500 opens deep in red dragged by slumping energy stocks

• Wall Street's main indexes opened sharply lower on Monday.
• All major sectors of the S&P 500 trade in the negative territory.
• Energy stocks suffer heavy losses amid dismal demand outlook.

Major equity indexes in the US started the new week on the back foot as investors adopt a cautious stance amid a lack of progress in stimulus talks and the rising number of coronavirus infections globally. Reflecting the dismal market mood, the CBOE Volatility Index is up nearly 8% on the day at 29.75.

As of writing, the S&P 500 was down 1.1% on the day at 3,427, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was losing 1.45% at 27,929 and the Nasdaq Composite was falling 0.4% at 11,502.

All 11 major sectors of the S&P 500 trade in the negative territory after the opening bell with the Energy Index posting the largest daily percentage decline of 2.55% at the time of press. The dismal energy demand outlook is weighing on crude oil prices and the barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was last seen losing 2.5% on the day at $38.72.

S&P 500 chart (daily)