Stocks slump most since 2010 as oil price war, coronavirus concerns trigger S&P circuit-breakerDow -2013.70 at 23851.08, Nasdaq -624.94 at 7950.68, S&P -225.81 at 2746.56The S&P 500 plunged 7% four minutes into the session, triggering a circuit-breaker that halted trading for 15 minutes, and closed the day with its worst loss since the May 2010 flash crash after an oil price war rattled markets already under siege due to the spreading coronavirus. Stocks sank as the U.S. crude oil price benchmark fell by about 25% after Saudi Arabia slashed prices and plans to increase production in retaliation against Russia. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., West Texas Intermediate crude traded to lows of $27.34 after closing the session in New York on Friday at over $41 per barrel. WTI crude for April delivery ended the session down $10.15, or 24.6%, at $31.13 a barrel as an all out price war was declared by Saudi Arabia after OPEC+ failed to reach a deal on production cuts on Friday since Russia would not agree to additional cuts. Meanwhile, the latest data from the Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering shows there are now 113,575 cases of COVID-19 and 3,995 deaths. In White House news, the Washington Post said that White House officials have invited top bank executives to meet this week about the strains on the U.S. economy created by the coronavirus outbreak. The Wall Street executives invited to the meeting and the agenda could not be immediately learned, the report stated. TOP NEWS: Amid the broader pullback in the market, most of the day's notable standouts to the downside were linked to oil and gas. On the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Dow Inc. ($DOW), Chevron ($CVX) and Exxon Mobil ($XOM) were three of the stocks suffering the worst declines dropping 12%, 14.4% and 12.2%, respectively. On the S&P 500, top decliners included Diamondback Energy ($FANG), Apache ($APA), Marathon Oil ($MRO), Cimarex ($XEC) and Occidental Petroleum ($OXY). In M&A news, Aon plc ($AON) and Willis Towers Watson ($WLTW) announced a definitive agreement to combine in an all-stock transaction with an implied combined equity value of approximately $80B. Twitter ($TWTR) announced a deal with activist investor firm Elliott Management that will see Jack Dorsey stay on as chief executive officer and will also see the company committing to buy back $2B worth of stock and name two new board members. The deal also includes a $1B investment provided by private equity firm Silver Lake. Meanwhile, shares of Inovio ($INO) dropped 30.2% after Andrew Left's Citron Research said via Twitter that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission should "immediately" halt the stock and investigate the company's 3-hour vaccine development claim. Responding to the cautious report, Inovio said Citron "demonstrated a lack of understanding of the science behind DNA medicines." The company last week announced an accelerated timeline for developing its DNA vaccine INO-4800 to address COVID-19. Additionally, Intuit ($INTU) shares were 5.8% lower as Barron's said that the company is "looking hard" at buying Finicty or another fintech company such as Credit Sesame or NerdWallet. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Tegna ($TGNA), which rose 5.2% following multiple media reports on Friday that the company has received multiple potential acquisition offers. Also higher was Sogou ($SOGO), which gained 0.8% after reporting quarterly results. Among the notable losers was Live Nation ($LYV), which slid 10.8% after director Ariel Emanuel disclosed the sale of 71,394 common shares. Also lower were Matinas BioPharma ($MTNB) and Magic Software ($MGIC), which fell a respective 11.3% and 8.7% after reporting quarterly results. [BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 dropped 7.6%, oil prices tanked 25%, and Treasury yields continued to fall to unprecedented levels on Monday after Saudi Arabia initiated a price war and coronavirus cases accelerated.The Dow Jones Industrial Average (-7.8%) and Nasdaq Composite (-7.3%) performed comparably to the benchmark index, while the Russell 2000 (-9.4%) underperformed. Saudi Arabia lowered its oil price for April delivery by $6-$8/BBL and signaled production boosts for an oversupplied market after Russia failed to agree to production cuts last Friday. WTI crude settled the session down 24.8%, or $10.23, to $31.09/BBL for its worst decline since 1991, which took a heavy toll on the S&P 500 energy sector (-20.1%). The oil shock exacerbated recessionary concerns already fueled by the rapid spread of the coronavirus, as speculation arose about potential layoffs and defaults within the highly-leveraged energy space. The other ten S&P 500 sectors posted losses between 4.4% (consumer staples) and 10.9% (financials).The financials space remained pressured by the sharp decline in Treasury yields, as investors continued to seek safety in bonds. The 2-yr yield fell 18 basis points to 0.32%, and the 10-yr yield fell 21 basis points to 0.50% after touching 0.34% at its low. The U.S. Dollar Index dropped 1.0% to 95.02. Stocks were halted from trading for 15 minutes in the opening minutes of action after the S&P 500's 7.0% decline triggered a circuit breaker. At that point, the S&P 500 was down 18.5% from its all-time high and later it nearly entered bear market territory, which is typically defined as a loss of at least 20% from a recent high.Expectations for stimulus measures from central bankers and policymakers rose amid the market turmoil. The fed funds futures market is expecting the Fed to cut rates by at least 75 basis points at its policy meeting next week, while the possibility of tax relief was floated by Senate Republicans. In corporate news, there was a sizable deal struck today. Aon ($AON 178.92, -35.89, -16.7%) agreed to acquire Willis Towers Watson ($WLTW 184.74, -14.97, -7.5%) in an all-stock transaction that values the combined company at about $80 billion.Investors did not receive any economic data on Monday. Looking ahead, the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index for February will be released on Tuesday.Nasdaq Composite -11.4% YTDS&P 500 -15.0% YTDDow Jones Industrial Average -16.4% YTDRussell 2000 -21.3% YTDMarket SnapshotDow23851.08-2013.70(-7.79%)Nasdaq7950.68-624.94(-7.29%)SP 5002746.56-225.81(-7.60%)10-yr Note +19/320.579NYSEAdv 70 Dec 2832 Vol 2.1 blnNasdaqAdv 175 Dec 3127 Vol 4.5 blnIndustry WatchStrong: noneWeak: Energy, FinancialsMoving the Market-- Stock market closes down more than 7%-- S&P 500 triggers circuit breaker after falling 7.0% shortly after the open, temporarily halted for 15 minutes at NYSE-- Saudi Arabia launches price war by cutting oil prices and signaling production boosts-- Coronavirus cases climb in the U.S. and elsewhere -- Treasury yields drop to unprecedented levelsSource: (Briefing.com)(theFly.com) Disclosure: I may trade in the ticker symbols mentioned, both long or short. 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