The Fed cuts interest rates by half a point following the coronaviorus. The Fed says so. The fundamentals of the US economy - he says - remain solid.
The press conference
The rate cut decided by the Fed is the first of 'emergencies' from the financial crisis . The announcement by the American central bank follows the meeting of G7 finance ministers and central bank governors.
The Fed expects the economy to return to solid growth. This was stated by President Jerome Powell, stressing that the G7 press release shows the existing coordination at a high level. The "Fed will do its part to keep the economy solid" in the face of the coronavirus adds Powell, ensuring that the Fed is ready to use the tools at its disposal and act appropriately.
The cut was decided to support the economy and ensure it remains strong. This was stated by Fed President Jerome Powell, underlining that in the face of the new risks posed by the coronavirus, the American economy remains solid. The coronavirus "materially changed the outlook for the American economy," explains Powell.
"It is important that we know that our decisions are made in the interest of the Americans. We do not take political considerations into account." Powell says so in response to those who asked him for a comment on Donald Trump's recent tweets.
Donald Trump asks the Fed to do more after the emergency cut decided to deal with the coronavirus emergency. "It's time for the Fed to play a leading role," easing monetary policy more and cutting rates more, tweeted the American president.
Wall Street gets worse . In a volatile session and after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's conference, the Dow Jones lost 1.20% to 26,834.12 points, the Nasdaq lost 0.93% to 8,870.10 points while the S&P 500 left on the land 0.93% at 3,061.80 points.
The nervousness does not abandon the European stock exchanges , which had a blaze after the Fed's choice to lower the interest rate but which then contained the increases with Wall street uncertainty: in Milan, the least optimistic list in the Old Continent, the Ftse Mib index closed 0.43% up to 21,748 points, the Ftse All share up 0.47% to 23,625. In Piazza Affari, among the largest capitalization stocks, Poste was the best with a final increase of 3.8%, followed by Amplifon (+ 3.6%), Diasorin (+ 2.9%) and Stm, up 2.7%. Enel also performed well by two percentage points, flat Eni, down by one percentage point Atlantia. Banks are weak despite the tension on Italian government bonds has fallen sharply: Banco Bpm has fallen by 8% to 1.7 euros after the industrial plan, followed by Unicredit which sold 4.2% and Bper down 2.3%. Pirelli and Mediaset were also weak, having lost two percentage points.