Stocks plummeted once again on Thursday after President Donald Trump and the Federal Reserve failed to quell concerns over the possible economic slowdown stemming from the coronavirus, leading to historic moves in U.S. markets.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 1,698 points lower, or 7.2%. Earlier in the day, it fell as much as 9.5%, which would be its worst drop since the 1987 market crash. The S&P 500 traded down 6.3%, joining the Dow in a bear market on Thursday. The Nasdaq Composite traded 6.3% lower.
The major averages got a brief respite after the Fed announced it will ramp up its overnight funding operations to more than $500 billion on Thursday. It will then offer more repo operations totaling $1 trillion on Friday. The Fed also expanded the types of securities it would purchase with reserves.
However, stocks quickly traded back towards their session lows as investors awaited more aggressive measures to support the economy amid the virus outbreak.
“These changes are being made to address highly unusual disruptions in Treasury financing markets associated with the coronavirus outbreak,” said the statement from the New York Federal Reserve, which conducts these operations on behalf of the Fed.
