Stock futures sink after rate cut, new virus restrictions

U.S. stock futures fell sharply after the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates and more companies and governments took action over the weekend to shut down European and American society in the face of the growing virus outbreak.

Futures for the S&P 500 fell 5% Sunday night and triggered a halt in trading.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1,040 points, or 4.6%. The price of oil fell more than around 2% while gold gained about 1.2%.

Stocks are set for more turbulence following a dizzying week that saw the Dow twice fall by more than 2,000 points and also record it's biggest point gain ever 1,985 points on Friday. The bull market that began in 2009 in the depths of the financial crisis came to an end. Europe markets saw similar volatility.

Asia markets were mostly lower. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index declined about 2% while shares in South Korea and China slipped less than 1%. Shares in Australia dropped 4.3%.

The country's prime minister announced new travel restrictions Sunday. Japan stocks rose slightly. The Bank of Japan has called an emergency meeting for noon local time Monday.

The Fed Sunday cut its key rate by a full percentage point to a range between zero and 0.25% and said it would keep it there until it feels confident that the economy can survive a sudden near-shutdown of economic activity in the United States.

The surprise announcement signaled the Fed's concern that the viral outbreak will depress economic growth in coming months and that it is prepared to do whatever it can counter the risks.

The fact the Fed acted before a meeting scheduled for mid-week indicated its policymakers felt they needed to move immediately to shore up financial markets and investors' confidence. \