Calls grow for emergency interest rate cut by Fed as recession fears surge: 'They've got to respond' | 5 Aug 2024 | Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell was urged to step in and cut interest rates as early as this week to soothe investor fears of a possible recession following last week's disappointing jobs report and the massive stock market selloff on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq were both down more than 1,000 points to start Monday’s trading session on Wall Street. The U.S. markets were reacting to the bloodbath in Japan, where the Nikkei fell by more than 12% -- its worst one-day performance since the "Black Monday" crash of 1987.