Fed Lowers Interest Rate to Near-Zero, Stock Futures Go Limit Down Again
March 15th, 2020— I N T ? L W ? V ? ? (@inteldotwav) March 13, 2020
Via: Yahoo News:
Stock futures opened sharply lower Sunday evening, even after the Federal Reserve launched a massive monetary stimulus program — including cutting rates to effectively zero and unveiling plans for large-scale asset purchases.
Specifically, the Fed slashed benchmark interest rates rates by 75 basis points to a band of between 0% and 0.25%. Underscoring the growing fears of a worldwide recession, the surprise announcement came just days ahead of the Fed’s scheduled March monetary policy meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday — and less than two weeks after the Fed had also unexpectedly cut rates by 50 basis points to a range of 1.00-1.25%.
Many market participants had expected the Fed would vote to cut rates to a zero lower bound for the first time since the financial crisis, but anticipated it would happen at this week’s meeting. The Fed will no longer hold its previously scheduled meeting, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said during a press conference Sunday evening.
