US Stocks Crashing As Fed Action Fails To Calm Markets

Trading on Wall Street was halted on Monday after stocks had plunged immediately after the opening bell, despite the promise by the US Federal Reserve to provide more stimulus. The sell-off continued after trading resumed. At one point, the S&P 500 and the Dow crashed more than ten percent due to a wave of panic selling. The Nasdaq Composite, comprising the biggest US tech companies, slid more than seven percent.

The sharp stock market fall triggered the so-called 'circuit breaker' trading halt, which lasted for 15 minutes. After the resumption of trade, the sell-off continued. Bank stocks are among the biggest losers, with JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley down at least 17 percent. Airline stocks are also crashing amid forecasts that many will be bankrupt by May.

The news of this Wall Street crash has driven European shares down further, with the London FTSE 100 index falling 8.4 percent to 4,904.60 points – its lowest since October 11. France's CAC 40 has nosedived more than 11 percent to 3,646.08, while the German DAX dropped by more than 10 percent to 8,277.20. Later in the day, European markets recovered some of their losses. -Full Report