Stocks Open Slightly Lower
NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stocks are hardly budging Thursday morning as the market continues the small moves it's made in the last few weeks. European stocks are rising and the British pound is skidding after the Bank of England cut interest rates to shore up the British economy after the nation's vote to leave the European Union.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average lost 17 points, or 0.1 percent, to 18,337 as of 10 a.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 3 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,160. The Nasdaq composite fell 6 points, or 0.1 percent, to 5,153.
Banks are falling as lower interest rates reduce their profits on lending. Household goods makers and technology companies are rising the most.
STIMULUS IN THE UK: The Bank of England cut interest rates to new lows and unveiled a raft of stimulus measures that include resuming a bond-buying stimulus program to pump money into the economy and launching a program of cheap lending to banks. The measures seemed to exceed the expectations of investors.
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The Bank of England is trying to counter the shock of Britain's vote to leave the European Union in late June. It said the measures announced today could be expanded later if needed. Britain's central bank hadn't cut rates since the financial crisis.
The pound fell to $1.3134 from $1.3317 on Wednesday.
UNEMPLOYMENT: Applications for unemployment aid rose to 269,000, a level close to historical lows and a positive sign for the job market. While the pace of hiring and economic growth slowed in the first half of the year, consumers could spend more in the months to come.
SQUARE ONE: Mobile payments company Square climbed after it reported strong second-quarter results and raised its projections for the year. The stock rose $1.19, or 11.4 percent, to $11.63.
JACK CHOWS DOWN: Burger chain Jack in the Box reported better than expected results and raised its forecasts for the year. Its stock gained $10.69, or 12.2 percent, to $98.45.
TRIPADVISOR TUMBLES: Travel website operator TripAdvisor reported lower revenue growth and profit margins in the second quarter, and the results disappointed analysts. The company also cited terrorism as among the events that are making it harder to predict how its business will perform in the near future. Itsstock lost $3.56, or 5.1 percent, to $65.93.
NOT A BIG SPLASH: Theme park operator SeaWorld said its revenue fell in the second quarter as guest numbers from Latin America dropped because of economic turmoil there and bad weather. Its stock gave up $2.02, or 13.6 percent, to $12.82.
OIL: Benchmark U.S. crude rose 12 cents to $40.95 per barrel in New York. It rose more than 3 percent Wednesday. Brent crude, which is used to price international oils, dropped 6 cents to $43.04 a barrel in London.
OVERSEAS: Britain's FTSE 100 rose 1 percent. Germany's DAX was up 0.7 percent and France's CAC 40 gained 0.5 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 finished 1.1 percent higher. South Korea's Kospi added 0.3 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 0.4 percent.
BONDS AND CURRENCIES: Bond prices rose and the yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.50 percent from 1.54 percent. The dollar was little changed at 101.12 yen and the euro was at $1.1147.
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