The Federal Reserve unexpectedly announced an emergency rate cut Tuesday morning, bringing benchmark interest rates down to between 1% and 1.25%. In a statement, the Fed said, "The fundamentals of the U.S. economy remain strong. However, the coronavirus poses evolving risks to economic activity."
The U.S. stock market had a mixed reaction to the emergency cut, with President Donald Trump calling for further easing. Trump tweeted: "The Federal Reserve is cutting but must further ease and, most importantly, come into line with other countries/competitors. We are not playing on a level field. Not fair to USA. It is finally time for the Federal Reserve to LEAD. More easing and cutting."
After Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell held a press conference on the cut, stocks dropped dramatically, losing much of Monday's gain as investors begin to really worry about the future of the economy as the coronavirus spreads. Even more harrowing, the 10-year yield dropped below 1% for the first time ever.
Here's how the market closed at the end of a falling trading period:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
In Major Stock News, Target
In Stock Sector News, ever sector ended the day with negative performance. The decline was led by Information Technology's drop of -3.79% and followed by Financials -3.73%, Communication Services -3.33%, Energy -3.12%, Health Care -2.54%, Industrials -2.43%, Consumer Discretionary -2.32%, Consumer Staples -1.31%, Utilities -1.16%, Materials -0.75% and Real Estate -0.10%.
Lastly, in Commodity and Currency News, crude oil prices continue to plummet with no end in sight. West Texas Intermediate
