MARKET SNAPSHOT: U.S. Stocks Step Modestly Higher After BOE Rolls Out Stimulus
August 04 2016 - 10:09AM
Dow Jones News
By Ellie Ismailidou and Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
Bank of England delivers stimulus; U.S. jobless claims rise
U.S. stocks inched higher in early trade Thursday, following a
decision by the Bank of England to cut its key interest rate for
the first time in seven years and to expand its quantitative-easing
program.
The S&P 500 index added less than 2 points, or about 0.1%,
to 2,166, led by a 0.4% gain in consumer staples, followed by a
0.2% rise in industrials. Two of the index's 10 sectors were in
negative territory, led by a 0.1% drop in health-care stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 37 points, or 0.2%, at
18,393, led by a 1.1% gain in Nike Inc.(NKE) but weighed by a 0.9%
drop in Walt Disney Co.(DIS).
Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite Index was up 6 points, or 0.1%,
at 5,166.
The BOE cut its key interest rate by 25 basis points to a record
low of 0.25%, which met market expectations. However, the central
bank also said it would buy up to GBP10 billion ($13.18 billion) of
corporate bonds and expand its quantitative-easing program by GBP60
billion to GBP435 billion.
Check out:Live blog of the Bank of England decision and press
conference
(http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2016/08/04/live-blog-bank-of-england-expected-to-cut-interest-rates-on-super-thursday/)
Meanwhile, in the U.S. the number of people who applied for
first-time unemployment benefits
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/jobless-claims-rise-3000-to-269000-2016-08-04)
rose by 3,000 to 269,000, marking the highest level since the end
of June, though claims still point to a healthy labor market. The
claims data came a day ahead of the July nonfarm-payrolls report,
which could be pivotal for the Federal Reserve's future monetary
policy.
"Ahead of tomorrow's July payroll report, the pace of firings
remains modest," said Peter Boockvar, chief market analyst at The
Lindsey Group. However, "a benign pace of firings doesn't
contradict a slowing rate of job growth," Boockvar said.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 04, 2016 09:54 ET (13:54 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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