Stock-market trading reopened after a 15-minute halt triggered by a steep slide at the opening bell today after investors failed to take comfort in the Federal Reserve’s decision to slash its benchmark interest rate to nearly 0% to combat the economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak.
The S&P 500 SPX, -9.41% was down 10.9% near 2,415. Another 15-minute market-wide trading halt will be implemented if the index falls 13% on the day. The initial circuit breaker was triggered when the S&P 500 fell more than 7% at the bell. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -9.796% was down 11.8% or 2,700 points, while the Nasdaq Composite COMP, -9.430% dropped nearly 900 points or 11.3%.
U.S. stocks plunged and trading was halted after Federal Reserve emergency intervention intended to cushion the economy from the coronavirus pandemic.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged more than 2,000 points and the benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped more than 7% -- triggering an automatic cutoff mechanism -- after the Fed cut interest rates and launched a fresh round of crisis-era bond purchases, reported USA Today. This was the third time in one week that trip mechanisms were activated during regular trading hours following sharp losses.