U.S. stock futures plunge despite ECB stimulus package

[intrepidity]

Wednesday despite an brief rally spurred by the European Central Bank announcement it will buy 750 billion euros' worth of securities and bonds through the end of 2020 to offset the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. After initially falling sharply at the start of the overnight session, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures YM00, -3.118% surged more than 300 points, or 1.5%, after the ECB's announcement, but then started to freefall. Dow futures were last down about 600 points, or 3%. S&P 500 futures ES00, -3.088% and Nasdaq-100 futures NQ00, -2.332% also gave up early gains and dropped sharply. Earlier in the day, U.S. stocks finished sharply lower, with the Dow DJIA, -6.30% closing below 20,000, its worst mark since 2017.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stock-futures-surge-higher-after-ecb-announces-stimulus-2020-03-18?mod=bnbh

[uponit7771]

1. Yep, world wide structural stoppage of consumer level discretionary funds. More carnage tommorrow

[Cetacea]

2. Becasue they know its not enough, according to analysts.

[uponit7771]

4. They only need 60 billion dollars, 20 billion for testing and infrastructure to support 1 month

... at home and 40 billion to kick start economy after everyone is back working.

We can save so much money by just getting test .. test, isolate, hunker down then clean then test one more time and get on with life

This is what they did in China ... Red Don isn't willing to do this so we're screwed

[intrepidity]

5. I wouldn't be so quick to clear China yet

I would not be surprised to see a resurgence in China and South Korea, especially as they start to remove their barriers.

[uponit7771]

6. +1, I know ... I never thought I'd be cheering on China's success for anything like this.

[Blue_true]

7. That is my concern also. Stuff was completely shutdown, let's

see what happens once those two governments reopen society and people start moving about.

[AlexSFCA]

3. no stimulus is big enough for this

it’s not people will start flying or go to restaurants, etc. Can’t fool stock market.

[Blue_true]

8. Exactly right.

People won't resume a normal life until there is an ironclad therapy or a vaccine.

[roamer65]

9. MASSIVE quantitative easing and negative interest rates are coming.

The Fed is going to start buying huge amounts of government and corporate debt. They will also put in substantially negative interest rates to make it very painful to save money.

You can probably kiss physical cash good bye within the next year or so. You can’t get around the negative interest rate policy if there is no cash to withdraw.

[intrepidity]

10. Can you elaborate more on the physical cash thing?

How does that work? Thanks.

[roamer65]

12. If bank accounts are at -5 percent interest rate, how are you going to try to get around it?

By withdrawing money in physical cash, which is at zero percent.

If they eliminate physical cash, no way to circumvent the negative interest rate policy. You either spend it, invest it or keep losing money.

[intrepidity]

13. So then, that's a real thing, not just an abstraction?

Has it happened before?

[roamer65]

15. Yes. European countries have a "mattress money" problem when they have gone to NIRP.

Especially Switzerland.

https://theconversation.com/negative-interest-rates-will-not-fix-the-global-economy-just-ask-switzerland-130718

They leave the rate for deposits by average people at .25 pct, because they know going negative on them will cause bank runs. No cash, no bank runs.

[sarcasmo]

16. Trump's 7th bankruptcy is near complete.

[roamer65]

18. [phone]

[MoonlitKnight]

11. Strong dollar is killing central bank action around the world

We have to follow with stronger action for it to work.

And that means government spending. We need to pass a massive infrastructure spending bill. Borrow two trillion and appropriate it now. It will take months to actually start being spent but will help and we need to do it anyway.

Pay it off over ten years with an increase in the gas tax. Take advantage of the low prices currently. Add a financial transactions tax as well. This will help curb the market volatility as a side effect.

Do the one trillion dollar stimulus being discussed but any corporation getting relief must give the government stock options just like the auto bailout, so we get paid back.

Send the checks out to everyone. Recover the amount for those over certain levels based upon tax filing next year with full deduction if the check is donated to covid-19 related charity. It must be donated the same month payments are received to qualify.

[intrepidity]

14. And revert to pre-Reagan tax rates nt

[Baclava]

17. Something strange going on , gold and silver prices plunging too, silver, $11.47, gold loses $40 oz

[roamer65]

19. But physical silver has dried up. It's not selling for 11.47 either.

More like $18 and higher.

We have complete divergence in the paper silver contracts and the physical metal.