By Jonathan Garber FOXBusiness
U.S. equity futures plunged limit down after the Federal Reserve took emergency action on Sunday evening.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were lower by 1,040 points, or 4.5 percent, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were down 4.4 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively.
Sunday evening’s losses come after the Fed slashed its benchmark interest rate by 100 basis points to a range between zero and 0.25 percent and said it will buy $700 billion worth of Treasury securities in a new asset-purchase program.
President Trump called the emergency action “a big step” and said he would ease up on his criticism of the central bank.
While equity futures were under pressure, investors moved into the safety of gold. Futures for April delivery were trading up 3.3 percent at $1,566 an ounce. Meanwhile, futures for West Texas Intermediate crude oil for May delivery were trading down 2.5 percent at $31.30 per barrel.
Sunday evening’s losses in equity futures come after the major averages all soared over 9 percent Friday in response to Trump declaring the new coronavirus outbreak a national emergency and enlisting some of the nation’s biggest companies, including Walmart and Google, to assist health officials in combating the outbreak and helping with procedures and testing.
