FREAKING OUT

U.S. Trading Halted, Stocks Drop 10% Despite Federal Reserve’s Drastic Action

The U.S. central bank slashed interest rates to zero at an emergency meeting Sunday.

Trading was once again halted at the opening bell Monday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted by 2,250 points, or 9.7 percent, completely wiping out Friday’s gains. Investors around the world have rushed to bail out of stocks despite Sunday’s massive intervention by the U.S. Federal Reserve. The central bank slashed interest rates to zero at an emergency meeting Sunday, and pledged to buy another $700 billion in Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities. Regardless, Monday saw the third trading halt for U.S. stocks in the last six trading sessions amid the worldwide novel coronavirus pandemic. Asian and European markets also slid when they opened Monday after new data showed the outbreak has caused an economic collapse in China that was more severe than even the most pessimistic forecasts. CNN reports Australia’s benchmark index crashed nearly 10 percent, marking its worst day on record.