Federal Reserve cuts key interest rate due to virus risk

23:14, March 03, 2020

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  US Fed under pressure to cut rates amid COVID-19 concerns

  Federal Reserve building in Washington D. Federal Reserve is under pressure to lower interest rates in the next few months as the COVID-19 outbreak roiled global markets and posed downside risk to the U. economy, analysts said.

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  Fed's official says COVID-19 outbreak weighs on US economic growth

  economic growth at least during the first half of this year, with a pullback in spending by households and businesses," a senior U. Federal Reserve (Fed) official said on Tuesday."It is what economists call a negative supply shock," Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Loretta Mester said in a s

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  Dow closes down over 780 points despite Fed's interest-rate cut

  (Photo: AP)NEW YORK, March 3 (Xinhua) -- US stocks fell sharply on Tuesday, with the Dow closing down more than 780 points, despite the Federal Reserves emergency interest-rate cut.The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 785.91 points, or 2.94 percent, to 25,917.41. The S&P 500 went down 86.86 points, or 2.81 percent, to 3,003.37. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 268.07 points, or 2.99 percent, to 8,684.09.All of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors closed lower, with technology down 3.79 percent, representing the worst-performing group.Shares of American Express and 3M Company both shed more than 5 percent, leading the laggards in the Dow.The market had a short-lived surge earlier in the session after the US central bank lowered the target range for the federal funds rate by 50 basis points to 1-1.25 percent amid COVID-19 concerns.In a surprise announcement on Tuesday, the Fed said that "in light of these risks and in support of achieving its maximum employment and price stability goals," the Federal Open Market Committee, the Feds policy-setting body, decided to cut its key interest rate by 0.5 percentage point.On Monday, US equities rallied massively, with the Dow up nearly 1,300 points, its best one-day point gain in history.