Shortly following the US open, markets.....>

EQUITIES: Shortly following the US open, markets on Wall Street open lower,

following the lead of their European counterparts which weakened across Monday

morning. E-mini S&P has, however, recovered slightly from the morning lows, and

now trades either side of the 2830 level. In cash markets, around 480 of the

S&P500 opened with losses, with the likes of Occidental Petroleum, Apache,

Halliburton and others all down well over 10% apiece.

- With the continued selling in May'20 WTI contracts (May contract, due to

expire Tuesday, now down ~37%), it's no surprise to see energy firms leading the

losses, but real estate also performs poorly. Consumer discretionary remains a

touch lower, but holding up well so far.

- Focus remains on earnings after the generally disappointing start from

financials last week. The tech sector and communication services takes focus

this week, with IBM after the bell.