European stocks down as ECB leaves interest rates on hold

European stocks down as ECB leaves interest rates on hold

TOKYO (AP) — European stocks were down slightly on Thursday, despite gains in Asian, after the European Central Bank left its interest rates on hold as it monitors the impact of Britain's vote to leave the European Union.

ANALYST QUOTE: "Mario Draghi's speech is hotly anticipated by investors as they look for clues and guidance on what measures the central bank will take post Brexit to navigate through uncertainty," said Alex Wijaya, senior sales trader at CMC Markets.

Japanese media reported the government may be considering a 20 trillion yen ($186 billion) fiscal stimulus package.

Technology stocks finished higher on Wall Street, following an encouraging report from Microsoft that said momentum in its cloud-computing business helped it to return to a profit in its fiscal fourth quarter.