The US Federal Reserve has mounted an extraordinary new array of programs to offset severe disruptions to the economy caused by the coronarvirus outbreak.
The new programs mean the Fed will lend against student loans, credit card loans, and government-backed loans to small businesses, and buy bonds of larger employers and make loans to them in what amounts to four years of bridge financing.
A new Main Street Business Lending Program that will extend credit to small- and-medium sized businesses will also be announced soon, the Fed said on Monday.
Existing purchases of US Treasury and mortgage-backed securities will be expanded as much as needed "to support smooth market functioning and effective transmission of monetary policy to broader financial conditions and the economy".
Russell Price, chief economist at Ameriprise Financial Services in Troy, Michigan, called it the Fed's "bazooka moment".
"It's their 'we'll do whatever it takes' moment which should be a sign to financial markets and investors that the Fed will provide any and all liquidity necessary to support the economy through this period."
Stock futures rose, reversing earlier losses, and US Treasury yields also ticked higher.
The move also helped lower risk premiums in key corporate credit markets that have been disrupted in the outbreak, analysts said.
In a statement the Fed said the effort, approved unanimously by members of the Federal Open Market Committee, was taken because "it has become clear that our economy will face severe disruptions" as a result of the health crisis.
Nearly a third of the US population is subject to new rules that close non-essential businesses and discourage people from leaving their homes in order to slow the spread of the virus.
