Oil took another stomach-churning 8 per cent dive on Monday and world shares buckled again as fears mounted that the global coronavirus shutdown could last for months.
There were some bright spots, with Australian equities posting a standout jump as the government launched a super-sized support program and Wall Street futures were fractionally positive, but that was about it.
Japan’s Nikkei had led the rest of Asia lower and Europe’s main markets skidded another 1 per cent, adding to what has already been the region’s worst quarter since 1987.
The rout in oil took crude to its lowest since 2002. Brent slumped to $22.5 a barrel leaving it down 65 per cent for the year and hammering petro currencies such as Russia’s rouble, Mexico’s peso and