U.S. stocks mixed after ECB rate decision; Dow Jones up 0.24%

Forexpros - U.S. stocks were mixed after the European Central Bank unexpectedly cut its interest rate and after worse-than-expected U.S. service sector data.

During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.24%, the S&P 500 index eased down 0.01%, while the Nasdaq Composite index fell 0.12%.

The ECB lowered its interest rate to 1.25% from 1.50%, signaling new efforts to tackle the region's debt crisis as Mario Draghi held his first policy-setting meeting as chairman of the central bank.

Meanwhile, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou’s government was on the brink of collapse after several ministers said they did not support his plan for a referendum on the bailout agreement for Greece. Investors eyed a government confidence vote scheduled on Friday.

In the U.S., the Institute of Supply Management said earlier that its non-manufacturing purchasing managers' index fell unexpectedly in October, ticking down to 52.9 after a reading at 53.0 the previous month. Analysts had expected the index to rise to 53.7 in October.

The financial sector fell after the ISM data with shares in Citigroup dropping 0.44% and Bank of America tumbling 0.89%, while Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan declined 2.76% and 1.49% respectively.

Meanwhile, energy stocks were sharply higher, tracking an upward trend in commodity prices. Shares in oil and gas company Alpha Natural Resources skyrocketed 8.90%, while EOG Resources climbed 1.10% and Chevron advanced 0.60%.

In earnings, Qualcomm saw shares surge 6.02% after the cellphone chipmaker topped estimates and said it expects to see double-digit sales growth this fiscal year.

Elsewhere, food manufacturer Kraft Foods soared 3.32% after reporting better-than-expected profit and raising its full-year outlook, while Kellogg plummeted 7.07% after the cereal maker posted disappointing earnings and announced a weak outlook.

Other stocks in focus included Starbucks, AIG and CBS, due to report third-quarter results after the closing bell on Thursday.

Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were sharply higher. The EURO STOXX 50 surged 1.42%, France’s CAC 40 soared 1.49%, Germany's DAX jumped 1.43%, while Britain's FTSE 100 posted a 0.40% gain.

During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled 2.8%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index was closed for a public holiday.

Also Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor said that jobless claims rose less-than-expected last week, climbing by 397,000 after a 406,000 increase the previous week. Analysts had expected jobless claims to rise by 401,000 last week.