Oil price plunge sends FTSE 100 tumbling

London's FTSE 100 stock exchange index was down 8.6 percent on Monday morning, representing one of the worst drops since the 2008 financial crisis, after a Saudi oil price war added to the economic slump brought on by the novel coronavirus.

The major dip came about after Saudi Arabia upped crude production, sending oil prices crashing by 30 percent, the biggest drop since the first Gulf War.

The move came after Russia refused to support Saudi's plans to lead OPEC in cuts to production, which were intended to support prices that have been impacted by economic uncertainty over the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Economists fear the price war could see the FTSE 100 approach its worst days since the financial crisis, when the index closed down 8.85 percent on Oct 10, 2008.