BREAKING: Markets halt trading on sharp declines after the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates to zero in an effort to calm coronavirus fears https://t.co/pAxS8zgBJc
— CNN Business (@CNNBusiness) March 16, 2020
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks dropped 8% in the first minutes of trading Monday on Wall Street and triggered another temporary halt to trading as huge swaths of the economy come closer to shutting down, from airlines to restaurants. Emergency actions taken by the Federal Reserve late Sunday to prop up the economy and get financial markets running smoothly again may have raised fears even further, some investors said. The Fed on Sunday cut its key interest rate to near zero. European markets were also down about 10%. The price of crude oil also dropped about 10%. Bond prices soared as investors sought safety.
