(MENAFN- AFP) European stock markets ended mixed on Thursday, getting only a brief boost after the European Central Bank cut its key interest rates to new all-time lows as part of a set of measures to prevent deflation.
Frankfurt's DAX 30 shot up to breach the 10,000 points level for the first time, but fell back to close up 0.21 percent at 9,947.83 points.
After having risen into positive territory after the ECB announcements, London's FTSE-100 closed down 0.08 percent at 6,813.49 points.
But Paris's CAC 40 hit heights not seen since June 2008, closing up 1.06 percent at 4.548,73 points.
The ECB announcements also only had only a brief impact of the euro, the strength of which has been contributing to deflationary pressures.
It slid to to its lowest level in four months at $1.3503, before bouncing back to $1.3616, stronger than the level late on Wednesday.
"The muted market responses to the ECB's policy announcements today are not necessarily a sign of failure," said Capital Economics.
"Equity prices, bond yields and the euro itself all edged a little further in the desired directions, at least initially, having already moved a fair way in the last few weeks in anticipation."
In a move hailed as "unprecedented" by analysts, the ECB lowered the rate at which it pays commercial banks for depositing their unused cash into negative territory for the time, cutting it from zero percent to minus 0.10 percent.
The bloc's central lender also cut its central refi refinancing rate to 0.15 percent, from 0.25 percent previously, and trimmed the interest rate on its marginal lending facility to 0.40 percent from 0.75 percent.
ECB head Mario Draghi at a press conference also announced that the bank would make targeted quarterly liquidity injections at a fixed rate until September 2018 and non-sterilised bond purchases to help boost bank lending.
The measures are designed to fight deflation, which economists say could drag on the eurozone's already tepid recovery by prompting consumers and businesses to cut spending.
Policymakers and markets had been looking for the ECB to take some action as inflation has been straying way below the central bank's target of just 2.0 percent and low levels of bank lending have been holding back a recovery.
Draghi said he did not expect the bloc to fall into deflation, although he did cut the ECB's 2014 inflation forecast to 0.7 percent.
He said rates "will remain at present levels for an extended period of time in view of the current outlook for inflation" but said that they were unlikely to go lower.
"The ECB today ignited monetary policy fireworks," said ING DiBa economist Carsten Brzeski.
"With rate cuts, new liquidity measures to enhance the transmission mechanism and some hints at further unconventional measures, the ECB presented a policy package of last hope," he added
US stocks also rose on the news, with the the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.38 percent to 16,801.69 points in midday trade.
The broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.44 percent to 1,936.41, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.57 percent to 4,275.74.
Asian markets, which closed before the ECB announcements, were mixed.
Tokyo ended flat, while Seoul fell 0.65 percent, and Sydney slid 0.15 percent.
Shanghai gained 0.79 percent, or 16.05 points, to 2,040.88 and Hong Kong slipped 0.18 percent, or 42.05 points, to 23,109.66.
- Euro bounces -
The European single currency tumbled after the announcements to a four month low of $1.3503
It bounced back to $1.3616 by 1600 GMT, stronger than the $1.3599 it traded at late Wednesday.
The euro eased against the pound to 81.08 British pence from 81.25 pence after the Bank of England kept UK interest rates at the record low of 0.5 percent for another month.
The British pound also climbed to $1.6791 from $1.6737 on Wednesday after British house price data came in slightly better than expected.
The price of gold rose to $1,252.50 an ounce from $1,245.25 Wednesday on the London Bullion Market.
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