European stocks up even as the euro craters against the dollar on ECB stance
New York — European stocks jumped more than 1% on Thursday, while the euro cratered against the dollar, after the European Central Bank (ECB) indicated it would not raise interest rates through the summer of 2019. The bank’s unexpectedly dovish guidance on interest rates overshadowed its statement that it aimed to wrap up its crisis-era stimulus programme, quantitative easing, at the end of this year. The ECB now plans to reduce monthly asset purchases between October and December to €15bn until the end of 2018 and then conclude the programme, though ECB president Mario Draghi stressed that the governing council stood ready "to adjust all its instruments as appropriate". Investors, though, seized on comments indicating that interest rates would stay at record lows at least through the summer of 2019. Some analysts believe it could be even longer. "With Draghi’s term of office due to expire at the end of October 2019, we feel the ECB is unlikely to start increasing interest rates unt...
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