1/ One of the consequences of a president who judges all policy actions by the stock market is a tendency of everyone to judge the efficacy of policies by whether they help the market. This is a "looking in the mirror" problem.
2/ The market, like the public, is looking to policy makers to, first, deal rationally and effectively with the virus. That means listening to the scientists, doctors and epidemiologists. Second, the market and the public expect policy makers to mitigate the economic spillovers..
3/ ... as best they can with the tools they have. What should policy makers' response to the market be? Something like: once we have done our job of protecting Americans' physical and economic safety and security, the market will take care of itself.
4/ There was a coordinated rate when markets reopened after 9/11. Markets cratered anyway. There was a coordinated cut in October, 2008, in midst of crisis. Stocks fell sharply that day....
5/ That didn't mean the rate cuts were too small, or too big, or too late, or too soon, or pointless. Everyone knew there was more going on in the economy than lower rates alone could fix & markets reflected that. Keep that in mind when judging what central banks did today.
