Fed unexpectedly cuts rates by a half point in order to protect economy from coronavirus

• The Federal Reserve unexpectedly cut interest rates by 50 basis points on Tuesday in an effort to combat a coronavirus-driven economic slowdown.
• Stocks immediately erased losses and traded higher on Tuesday.
• Read more on Business Insider.

The Federal Reserve on Tuesday cut interest rates by 50 basis points in order to combat an economic slowdown resulting from the coronavirus outbreak.

"The fundamentals of the US economy remain strong. However, the coronavirus poses evolving risks to economic activity," the Federal Open Market Committee said in a statement.

The Fed added that it's "closely monitoring developments and their implications for the economic outlook and will use its tools and act as appropriate to support the economy."

This story is developing. Check back shortly for more details.

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