US stocks headed lower on Monday following a strong two-week rally as oil prices crashed, while investors turned cautious over what is expected to be a disappointing week for earnings and economic data.
Energy stocks shed 1.9% and were on track for their sixth slide in seven sessions as the front-month May US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) contract plunged more than 50% to its lowest price on record on storage concerns.
Although energy stocks have far smaller weightage on US equity indexes when compared with technology or financial shares, the sheer drop in oil prices underscores the decline in global growth as demand dries up, analysts said.
