
Just an hour into Tuesday's trading day, the NY Fed announced it will pump up to $500 billion into the financial system later this afternoon through an unscheduled overnight repurchase (repo) operation.
The move comes on top of the NY Fed's previously announced repo operations, including one already completed early Tuesday morning, after Monday's precipitous slide in stocks including Dow's worst day since 1987.
The cash injections are aimed at calming panicky markets and responding to a surge in demand for the US dollar, the world's safe haven currency.
"This action is taken to ensure that the supply of reserves remains ample and to support the smooth functioning of short-term U.S. dollar funding markets," the Fed's statement said.
On Sunday the Fed slashed interest rates to zero and relaunched its 2008 crisis-era bond-buying program.
But the US central bank is likely not nearly done.
Analysts say the Fed may need to provide lending to industries threatened by the coronavirus outbreak, such as airlines.
Bank of America is warning the commercial paper market is "frozen." US companies rely on that market for short-term borrowing. To calm markets, Bank of America said the Fed may need to launch the same kind of commercial paper lending facility it used in 2008.