US stocks fall further into the red as investors lament lack of stimulus plan
US stocks tumbled as investors grew concerned over the absence of immediate measures to counter the fallout from the coronavirus outbreak.
The Dow Jones is down 791.84 points to 24,226.32, weighed down by a seven per cent drop in Boeing shares. The company plans a full drawdown of an existing $13.8bn loan as early as Friday, according to Reuters.
The benchmark S&P 500 stocks ended a volatile session on Tuesday 4.8 per cent higher after President Donald Trump promised a “very dramatic” package of measures to combat coronavirus. It is now down three per cent. Nasdaq is down 2.52 per cent to 8,161 points.
Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex, attributed the 1000-point plus plunge on the Dow Jones to Donald Trump’s lack of plan.
“Perhaps most damning in the eyes of the markets, Donald Trump is yet to deliver his emergency relief plan, and has failed to give any kind of timeline for its implementation if it gets through Congress.”
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President Trump has disclosed little detail of these measures as coronavirus spreads further in the US. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed 291 new cases, bringing the total to 987. The number of deaths rose by 4 to 29.
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said there is no need for intervention in markets due to coronavirus. He said banking regulators are looking at various possible short-term regulatory actions in response to the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak, but there is no need for invention.
“The Fed has already acted significantly in putting lots of liquidity into the market,” he said.
The European session started well after the Bank of England announced a 0.5 per cent interest rate cut, and Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a coronavirus stimulus package worth £30bn. However, virus fears continued to dominate the market as the FTSE 100 closed down 1.4 per cent.
Germany’s Dax was down 0.38 per cent to 10,435.9 points, while France’s Cac fell 0.47 per cent to 4,610.25. The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed 0.74 per cent lower.