Shares skid after oil prices dip into negative territory

Asian shares skidded on April 21 after U.S. oil futures plunged below zero with storage for crude nearly full as demand collapses due to the pandemic.

Shares fell in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai and New York stock futures retreated after the S&P 500 sank 1.8% overnight, giving up some big gains from last week.

In a stunning development, the cost to have a barrel of U.S. crude delivered in May plummeted to negative $37.63. It was at roughly $60 at the start of the year.

Traders are still paying more than $20 for a barrel of U.S. oil to be delivered in June, which analysts consider to be closer to the "true" price of oil. Crude to be delivered next month, meanwhile, faces a stark problem: traders are running out of places to keep it, as factories, automobiles and airplanes sit idled around the world.

"We could merely be in the eye of the hurricane as the epicenters of its rage remain centered around demand devastation and crude oil oversupply," Stephen Innes of AxiCorp. said in a commentary.

"At a minimum, oil prices will be the last asset class to recover from lockdown. End transport demand will only occur in the final stages of reopening when border crossing is allowed, and travel restrictions get lifted," he said.

Tanks at a key energy hub in Oklahoma could hit their limits within three weeks, according to Chris Midgley, head of analytics at S&P Global Platts. So traders are willing to pay others to take that oil for delivery in May off their hands, so long as they also handle figuring out where to keep it.

"Almost by definition, crude oil has never fallen more than 100%, which is what happened today," said Dave Ernsberger, global head of pricing and market insight at S&P Global Platts.

"I don't think...