For information, on 'election' day: edited

[elleng]

Last edited Tue Mar 3, 2020, 05:05 PM - Edit history (1)

S&P 500
-1.11%
Dow
-1.38%
Nasdaq
-1.00%


11:40 a.m.

U.S. Stocks Whipsaw After the Fed Cuts Rates: Live Markets Updates

'U.S. stocks rallied immediately after the Fed said it would cut interest rates, but those gains then faded.

The Fed cuts interest rates.
The Federal Reserve slashed interest rates by half a point on Tuesday as fears about the economic fallout of the coronavirus mounted.

“The coronavirus poses evolving risks to economic activity,” the Fed said in a statement. “In light of these risks and in support of achieving its maximum employment and price stability goals, the Federal Open Market Committee decided today to lower the target range for the federal funds rate.”

The move underlines what a fraught moment economic policymakers in the United States and around the world currently face. While they can bolster confidence and help to keep borrowing cheap, there are questions about how effective rate cuts will ultimately be in counteracting the virus fallout. Central banks cannot keep disease from spreading, prevent workers from losing hours at work, or mend broken supply chains amid factory delays.'>>>

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/03/business/stock-market-today.html?

S&P 500
-0.69%
Dow
-0.93%
Nasdaq
-0.71%

11:55 a.m.


S&P 500
-2.65%
Dow
-2.82%
Nasdaq
-2.91%


2:50 p.m.


S&P 500
-2.81%
Dow
-2.94%
Nasdaq
-2.99%

Close

[soryang]

1. Fed cuts interest rate by 50 basis points?

i'm missing how this helps with corona virus. I can see how it helps overexposed bankers, or corporate insiders trying to cover their losses on Wall St. In terms of the way it will help retail or travel related businesses with losses due to decreased demand or manufactures with supply chain issues escapes me.

[progree]

2. 214p ET: S&P down 3.5%, Dow down 859 (3.2%), really shocking after a 0.50% Fed rate cut

It's supposed to go the other way.

And the 10 year Treasury right now is yielding 0.98% -- that's known as "losing its handle", where the "handle" is a digit (other than zero) to the left of the decimal point. The media has been saying over the past several days that it's at a record low, so that means its a certainty that this is the first time that the 10 year Treasury has lost its handle.