Markets slowly rise after Fed steps in again to calm coronavirus fears

The Dow Jones Industrial Average bounced back nervously on Tuesday, after dipping below 20,000 just one morning after its worst single-day points drop ever, as traders grappled with almost unprecedented economic volatility.

After the Federal Reserve announced new action Tuesday as part of its sweeping emergency measures to address the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, the S&P and Nasdaq rose by around 4 percent, with the Dow settling in with a gain of around 400 points.

“We’re going to win,” President Donald Trump said in a briefing from the White House Tuesday morning. Trump said the government would be providing assistance for small businesses, and noted that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin would be meeting with senators to discuss further stimulus plans, further boosting market confidence and pushing the Dow higher to a gain of around 600 points.

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Yet even the most drastic of monetary policy measures still seem to have fallen short. Just days after an emergency rate cut, the Fed on Sunday slashed the rate again, and implemented additional crisis moves to ensure liquidity in U.S. markets. Markets still saw their biggest sell-off since 1987.

A constant slew of updates and shutdowns has sent investors into a tailspin, with traditional safe havens such as gold and oil no longer necessarily viable options after a price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia drove down the price of crude oil to 1991 levels.

While analysts, economists, and even President Donald Trump make mention of the possibility of a recession, some are now even contemplating whether the massive social and economic upheaval caused by the coronavirus pandemic could throw the U.S. into a depression.

China, where the novel coronavirus originated, is expected to see economic contraction by 9 percent in the first quarter, Goldman Sachs forecast on Tuesday, an unsettling indication of the economic distress that could affect the U.S.

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Trading was again halted in premarket activity on Tuesday, after the S&P hit its “limit down” threshold. It’s the third time in one month that trading has been paused prior to the opening bell.

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