U.S. stock indexes fell sharply Monday, a day after the Federal Reserve aggressively cut interest rates to near zero in a bid to stop the economy from crashing. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down over 2,000 points, or nearly 9 percent, as coronavirus measures rapidly expanded.
The deep stock market selloff reflects broad concerns that despite these economic measures, the U.S. economy is likely heading toward a recession. Many parts of the economy have abruptly come to a standstill. Government orders to temporarily close restaurants and bars in New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago and recommendations to ban groups of more than 50 people were among the latest attempts to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
The S&P 500 index fell nearly 11 percent after temporary trading halts were lifted on the New York Stock Exchange, but later recovered somewhat to a drop of about 8 percent. A 7 percent drop in the S&P 500 automatically forces trading to stop for 15 minutes, which has happened three times in the past week.