European markets trades lower on US crude plunge

European markets traded sharply lower Tuesday morning as oil market volatility and the coronavirus outbreak remained in focus.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 fell almost 2 percent in early trading, driven lower by oil and gas stocks which plummeted more than 4.5 percent.

Oil markets have come into sharp focus after dramatic moves in prices Monday as the coronavirus dents demand and concerns over production storage grow.

West Texas Intermediate crude futures for May delivery plunged below zero for the first time in history on Monday. The contract in question is set to expire on Tuesday, fueling Monday’s wipeout.

But in early Asian trading hours on Tuesday, the price of the May WTI contract returned to positive territory, trading at $1.35 a barrel. The June U.S. crude contract gained 3.23 percent to $21.09 a barrel. International benchmark Brent crude futures, on the other hand, dipped 0.9 percent to $25.34 a barrel.

BP and Repsol shares were down by about 5 percent in early deals.

And in other stock news, shares in SwissRe tumbled more than 8 percent in early trade and led the losses across Europe.