Stocks Swing Wildly After Global Rate Cuts

Updated from 1:56 p.m. EDT

U.S. stocks continued to fluctuate wildly Wednesday after the Federal Reserve authorized an emergency 50-basis point reduction in the fed funds rate.

The rate cut, which was coordinated with a similar cut by the European Central bank as well as lenders in Britain, Canada, Sweden and Switzerland, marks a significant step in efforts to stem a global economic slowdown and free up constrained credit markets. The Fed's rate cut reduces the target interest rate to 1.5%. The ECB reduced its key rate half a point to 3.75%, and the Bank of England cut rates 50 basis points to 4.5%.

In highly volatile trading, the major indices were recently marking gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which earlier fell some 250 points, was lately up 55 points to 9502, and the S&P 500 was better by 13 points at 1009. The Nasdaq was adding 30 points to 1785. ...