Global Markets Broadly Lower As Investors Track Crude Oil Retreat

Investor sentiment sagged Monday along with crude oil prices after a landmark summit Sunday between 16 major oil-producing countries failed to reach a deal on production cuts amid a worsening oil glut.

Hopes of a production freeze had helped boost crude oil prices in the buildup to the Doha, Qatar, meeting. However, Saudi Arabia's insistence on Iran’s participation at the last minute, after Iran had refused to take part in the summit pushed the sentiment down, fueling fears that a production cut may not be agreed upon until the next meeting in June.

Energy companies registered the biggest losses on the global bourses Monday. Mining giant BHP Billiton was down 3 percent, while Rio Tinto was down 1.6 percent. China's CNOOC lost 1.6 percent and PetroChina was off 1.9 percent.

Asian markets finished broadly lower with shares in Japan leading the overall downward movement. Japan's Nikkei 225 index slumped 3.40 percent while China's Shanghai Composite index was lower by 1.44 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index closed 0.73 percent down. China’s Nasdaq-style ChiNext Index slipped 1.91 percent.

In South Korea, the Kospi index was down 0.28 percent. India’s S&P BSE Sensex bucked the trend, closing 0.74 percent higher, but energy companies in the country ended the day in red.

European markets started trading in the red with shares in London’s FTSE 100 index down 0.18 percent. France's CAC 40 was down 0.26 percent while the DAX in Germany was lower by 0.05 percent. The pan-European Stoxx 600 was down 0.19 percent.

In the U.S., futures on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were both down 0.31 percent, while Dow Jones futures were trading 0.26 percent lower Monday.