GLOBAL MARKETS-U.S. stock futures plunge despite Fed's emergency rate cut

* Asian stock markets : https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
* Fed cuts rates to 0-0.25%, major central banks ease
* Central banks offer cheap U.S. dollar funding
* Dollar slips as Fed cuts the most

By Wayne Cole
SYDNEY, March 16 (Reuters) - U.S. stock futures fell to
their offshore trading limit within half an hour from opening on
Monday even as the U.S. Federal Reserve led the world's central
banks in taking bold easing steps to cushion the impact of the
coronavirus on economies.
The U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates on Sunday in
another emergency move to a target range of 0% to 0.25% and said
it would expand its balance sheet by at least $700 billion in
coming weeks. "They must really be scared. To do that in one fell swoop is
really quite shocking. They pulled out whatever weapons they had
and my sense is I think it may help initially but I don't think
it goes much further because this is still a developing issue,"
said Robert Pavlik, chief investment strategist at Slatestone
Wealth LLC in New York.
"They used up basically all their ammunition and we're down
to sticks and stones."
The e-mini futures of S&P500 index ESc1 dropped 4.77% to
their daily trading limit outside the United States on mounting
worries about further economic disruptions as more countries
took steps over the weekend to limit human moves close their
borders over the weekend.
U.S. Treasuries futures TYv1 jumped more than a full
point.
Five other central banks also cut pricing on their swap
lines to make it easier to provide dollars to their financial
institutions facing stress in credit markets. The swap lines were set up by the Fed, the Bank of Canada,
European Central Bank, Bank of England, Bank of Japan and Swiss
National Bank in the financial crisis. They also agreed to offer
three-month credit in U.S. dollars on a regular basis and at a
rate cheaper than usual.
The move was designed to bring down the price banks and
companies pay to access U.S. dollars, which has surged in recent
weeks as a coronavirus pandemic spooked investors. President Donald Trump called the move "terrific" and
"very good news." The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) joined in with an
unscheduled cut of 75 basis points to its rates, and speculation
was rife the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) would also ease.
"Central banks around the world continue to react with
emergency interest rate cuts to assist with the shock to demand
arising from the spread of the COVID-19 virus, with necessary
public health containment efforts coming at a substantial
economic cost," NAB chief economist Alan Oster.
"Central banks are also appropriately providing additional
liquidity to financial systems."
Most market had yet to open in Asia, but currencies were
active with the U.S. dollar falling given that the Fed had cut
by more than its peers.
The dollar dropped 1.7% on the Japanese yen to 106.01
JPY= , while the euro climbed 0.5% to $1.1168.
The risk-sensitive Australian dollar fell 0.25% to $0.6182
AUD=D4 while the New Zealand dollar NZD=D4 slipped 0.1% to
$0.6048.

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