US stock mkt. opens lower amid Eur. Central Bank choice

NEW YORK (AA) – Wall Street opened lower Thursday after the European Central Bank (ECB) withheld more stimulus for the economy, disappointing the markets and investors.

The Dow Jones fell 55 points to begin the day at 18,470 and the S&P 500 was down four points to 2,181. The Nasdaq decreased 17 points to start the day at 5,266.

The ECB announced earlier Thursday that it would keep its interests rate unchanged, but failed to introduce more stimulant measures for the economy, causing European stock market to post losses.

When Wall Street opened, Germany's DAX index was down 1.4 percent, while the U.K.'s FTSE posted a 0.22 percent decrease, and France's CAC 40 saw a 0.92 percent decline.

On Wednesday, the U.S. stock market closed mixed, while the Nasdaq posted a new closing record-high for the second day in a row, and reached 5,288 points during trading hours to post a fresh all-time intraday record.