The U.S. Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rates by a half-percentage point to 1.25 percent Tuesday to support the U.S. economy after COVID-19 outbreaks around the globe sent markets plummeting last week. 

"The virus and the measures that are being taken to contain it will surely weigh on economic activity, both here and abroad, for some time," Fed chairman Jerome Powell said during a news conference.

It was the first rate cut between policy meetings since the 2008 financial crisis. It was also the largest rate cut in nearly 12 years. 

But the news failed to calm markets. Stocks fell sharply after Wall Street opened. While markets rallied briefly after the rate cut, the Dow Jones Industrial Average still plunged more than 785 points at the close of trading. 

The Dow, S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite all tumbled by around 3 percent. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note plunged below 1 percent for the first time ever.

President Donald Trump was not satisfied. He told reporters after U.S. markets closed, "I think they should do more. I think they hinted that they're not going to do much more, and that's unfortunate. He gave a very bad signal, in my opinion."

Starting from the U.S. Fed on February 28, heads of global major central banks have made emergency statements about possible steps targeting potential economic risks caused by the outbreak.

Australia's central bank on Tuesday slashed interest rates by 25 basis points to 0.50 percent as a quick response to the spread of the coronavirus.

Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda and European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde on Monday pledged to monitor the situation and take actions in due time to guard against underlying risks.