Middle East Hopes Send Oil Prices Plummeting Amid Global Market Volatility

Global markets experienced mixed results on Monday as oil prices plummeted due to renewed hopes for Middle East negotiations, while the yen strengthened after a joint intervention by US and Japanese authorities.

Oil prices sank more than four percent with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures falling 5.1 percent to $80.34 per barrel and Brent North Sea Crude dropping 4.7 percent to $83.77 per barrel.

Despite the decline, US stocks mostly rose, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (Dow) reaching an all-time high of 53,178.41 after a 1.3 percent gain.

The yen gained against the dollar following confirmation that authorities had bought Japan's currency on the open markets to stabilize its value, which has been weakened by higher US interest rates and rising oil prices.