U.S. stocks opened sharply lower on Monday even after the Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate to the range from 0 to 0.25 percent and unveiled a huge program of bond-buying amid coronavirus fallout.

The S&P 500 index declined 8 percent shortly after the opening bell, triggering a key circuit breaker that halted trading for 15 minutes. It was the third time that the circuit breakers, or trading halts, have been tipped since last week.

Market selling accelerated after the trading was resumed, with all the three major indexes dropping more than 11 percent at one point.

In a surprise announcement, the U.S. Federal Reserve on Sunday cut its benchmark interest rate by a full percentage point to near zero and pledged to boost its bond holdings by at least 700 billion U.S. dollars amid mounting fears over the COVID-19 outbreak.

The 100-basis-point cut came just less than two weeks after an earlier inter-meeting move, which slashed the benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points, failed to calm markets' jitters.

"Traders are reacting today with shock, as in, 'If they are doing all that, things must be really bad,'" Chris Low, chief economist at FHN Financial, said in a note on Monday.

"The central bank stampede has been fierce, but markets are still waiting for the fiscal cavalry to arrive," analysts at TD Securities said.

Vicious market swings have become routine for U.S. equities these days over the speed and severity of the coronavirus outbreak.

For the week ending March 13, the Dow cratered 10.4 percent, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq declined 8.8 percent and 8.2 percent, respectively. 

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