(As of 7:20 am PST)
US stocks opened mildly higher today and are slowly
falling back to the unchanged line. News
out of Europe grabbed headlines this morning as the European Central Bank
announced a package of stimulus measures aimed at spurring growth in the
sluggish Euro-zone economy. The most
drastic move was the ECB’s decision to cut its key lending rate to 0.15% from
0.25% and its deposit rate to -0.1% from 0%.
Implementing a negative deposit rate, effectively will charge banks for
leaving excess reserves at the ECB. ECB
President Mario Draghi announced at a news conference this morning that other
measures intended to spur growth and bank lending will be put into effect
shortly, including plans for future quantitative easing. Today’s announcement lifted European stocks
with most of the major equity benchmarks higher. In the US, a report on jobless claims showed
claims rose slightly last week but still remain near a post-recession low. Investors are gearing up for tomorrow’s
nonfarm payrolls report hoping for improving data despite yesterday’s disappointing
ADP jobs report. It looks like another
quiet day today for US markets.
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