US STOCKS-Futures pounded as Fed's aggressive rate cut fans recession fears

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* Futures down: Dow 4.53%, S&P 4.77%, Nasdaq 4.54%

(Adds details; Updates prices)
By Sanjana Shivdas
March 16 (Reuters) - Wall Street looked set to crater on
Monday after the Federal Reserve's aggressive move to cut
interest rates to nearly zero heightened fears of the economy
tipping into a coronavirus-driven recession.
S&P 500 ETFs SPY.P plunged 9% after the Fed slashed
short-term rates by 100 basis points and pledged sweeping asset
purchases in coming weeks.
S&P 500 futures EScv1 fell 4.77% to hit a daily down
trading limit overnight, suggesting heavy losses for the
benchmark at the open and a possible 15-minute cutout put in
place to prevent another 1987 "Black Monday"-style crash.
Central banks in Japan, Australia and New Zealand joined the
Fed in announcing dramatic monetary easing in a co-ordinated
effort not seen since the 2008 financial crisis, but failed to
shore up global investor sentiment. MKTS/GLOB
World stocks tumbled nearly 2%, oil prices slumped and even
safe-haven gold took a hit as France and Spain joined Italy in
entering virtual lockdowns and the global death toll from the
outbreak topped 6,500. The extent of the Fed's action, taken ahead of its scheduled
meeting set for Tuesday and Wednesday, spooked investors
following Wall Street's attempt at a rebound on Friday as
President Donald Trump declared a national emergency and
earmarked $50 billion in fiscal aid.
"We're facing the loss of credibility of the central bank
from a market perspective," said Michael O'Rourke, chief market
strategist, Jonestrading, Stamford, Connecticut.
"When the investor community loses faith in the Fed, that's
when the market gets very dangerous."
At 6:44 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were down 1,041
points, or 4.53%. S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were down 128.5
points, or 4.77% and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were down 359.75
points, or 4.54%.
S&P 500 ETFs were down 9.6% at their lowest since January
2019.
Shares of big lenders including Bank of America Corp
BAC.N , JPMorgan Chase & Co JPM.N , Goldman Sachs Group Inc
GS.N and Citigroup C.N tumbled between 14% and 17% in
premarket trading as many analysts feared lending to business
with mounting losses would fuel distrust among banks.
Eye-popping falls were also seen in tech heavyweights such
Apple Inc AAPL.O , Microsoft Corp MSFT.O , Amazon.com Inc
AMZN.O .
Delta Air Lines Inc DAL.N , United Airlines Holdings Inc
UAL.O , American Airlines Group Inc AAL.O fell between 15%
and 19% after United Airlines booked $1.5 billion less revenue
in March compared with a year earlier and warned employees that
planes could be flying nearly empty into the summer, even after
drastic flight capacity cuts. Shares in oil majors Exxon Mobil XOM.N and Chevron Corp
CVX.N dropped more than 10% as U.S. crude fell below $30.
O/R