Stocks Fall Even After The Fed's Latest Move

Avie Schneider

March 23, 2020 / 7:21 am

caption: Stocks fell again Monday as U.S. lawmakers continued to work on a massive stimulus measure. The floor of the New York Stock Exchange was closed as the exchange shifted to all-electronic trading amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and other U.S. stock indexes fell again Monday as central bankers and lawmakers struggled to deal with the coronavirus pandemic's economic damage.

The latest slide came despite actions announced by the Federal Reserve to help the bond market, companies and consumers — and the central bank's vow to use "its full range of tools."

The Dow was down more than 300 points, or 1.6%. The S&P 500 index was also down about 1.6%. The Nasdaq was down 0.3%. The Dow has plunged about 36% from its February high.

The Fed had already cut its key interest rate to nearly zero. On Monday, the central bank said it will buy bonds and mortgage-backed securities "in the amounts needed" to keep markets working smoothly. And it said it expects to announce a "Main Street Business Lending Program to support lending to eligible small-and-medium sized businesses."

But a giant stimulus bill with more than $1 trillion to help the economy is stalled in the Senate.

"We've known that the magnitude of help needed has been massive and growing for days now," said Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst for Bankrate. "The Federal Reserve continues to do all it can to keep markets operating. Now, the spotlight is on elected leaders to do their jobs as well." [Copyright 2020 NPR]