NEW YORK, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Wall Street's major averages closed sharply lower on Monday as market sentiment was dented by a historic drop in U.S. crude prices.The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 592.05 points, or 2.44 percent, to 23,650.44. The S&P 500 was down 51.40 points, or 1.79 percent, to 2,823.16. The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 89.41 points, or 1.03 percent, to 8,560.73.
All the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended lower, with utilities and real estate down 3.89 percent and 3.74 percent, respectively, the two worst-performing groups.
Energy shares were also under pressure with the sector closing down 3.29 percent, after a nosedive in oil prices on demand shock and a supply glut.
The West Texas Intermediate for May delivery shed more than 300 percent to settle at -37.63 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It marks the first time an oil futures contract has traded negative in history, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
Investors continued to gauge the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.
As of Monday afternoon, more than 776,000 confirmed cases have been reported in the United States, with 41,313 deaths, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
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