Oil prices fall to 21-year low
Oil prices extended losses and slid to 21-year lows on Monday, amid concerns of U.S. crude storage hitting capacity due to a slump in demand caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
As of writing, the U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures contract for May delivery slumped more than 26% to $13.37 per barrel, its lowest mark since March 1999. The May futures contract will expire on Tuesday.
Brent crude, the benchmark used by the rest of the world, was also weaker, down 3.7% to $27.04 per barrel.
According to data compiled by the Energy Information Administration, crude supplies at the key storage hub of Cushing, Oklahoma have risen 48% to around 55 million barrels since the end of February.
Stock futures point to a negative start for Wall Street
U.S. stocks are set to open lower Monday, as oil prices remain under pressure and market participants continue to weigh the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As of writing, the blue-chip Dow futures were down 220 points, or 0.91% to 23,939. S&P 500 futures dropped 22.88 points, or 0.8% to 2,847.12 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures lost 40.62 points, or 0.46% to 8,768.38.
On the earnings front, traders are awaiting Halliburton Company (NYSE: HAL)’s first-quarter results before the opening bell. The oil services company is expected to report earnings of 24 cents per share on revenue of $5.01 billion.
Computer manufacturer (NYSE: IBM) is expected to announce quarterly earnings of $1.84 per share on revenue of $17.85 billion after the close.
Anixa shares rocket after announcing collaboration with OntoChem on COVID-19 therapeutics
Shares of Anixa Biosciences (NASDAQ: ANIX) rocketed in premarket trade Monday, after the biotechnology company disclosed that it has entered into a strategic collaboration with OntoChem GmbH to discover and develop antiviral drug candidates for the potential treatment of COVID-19.
“We are pleased to be working with OntoChem for the discovery and development of new drug candidates for COVID-19,” Anixa CEO Amit Kumar said in a press release.
“OntoChem has developed the world’s largest chemistry and gene ontology databases and search capability and has assembled large, proprietary, in silico libraries of chemical compounds that could disrupt the ability of SARS-CoV-2 to replicate,” Kumar added.
Anixa stock jumped 15.58% to change hands at $2.30 a share in premarket trading session.
