Global Stocks Mostly Lower as Pound Slips

By Christopher Whittall and Tommy Stubbington 

        Global stocks were mostly lower Thursday, while the British pound slipped after the Bank of England indicated it remains on course to begin slowly lifting interest rates early next year.
        The move in sterling came as investors sized up a raft of data and statements from the BOE--dubbed "Super Thursday" by analysts--in which the central bank left its benchmark interest rate on hold at 0.5%.
        The U.K. currency extended losses against the U.S. dollar and the euro. After the decision, it traded 0.5% lower against the greenback at $1.5530. Sterling slipped by a similar amount against the euro.
        Minutes of the central bank's policy meeting showed that one of the nine members of its rate-setting committee backed an immediate rate rise. Higher interest rates make a currency more attractive to investors.
        "I think the consensus going into the meeting was that there would be two dissenters, maybe even three. So this sends a dovish signal," said Daragh Maher, a currency strategist at HSBC.
        The U.K.'s benchmark FTSE 100 index pared earlier losses to trade 0.1% lower.
        Elsewhere in Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 was down 0.4% early afternoon, following a 1.3% gain on Wednesday, led by weakness in the energy and mining sectors, as investors focused on a mixed bag of corporate earnings.
        In the U.S., stock futures indicated a 0.1% opening gain for the S&P 500 ahead of Friday's U.S. jobs report for July, which should provide hints on the timing of the first increase in U.S. interest rates in nearly a decade. The Federal Reserve considers employment and inflation data as it makes decisions on monetary policy. Changes in futures aren't necessarily reflected in market moves after the opening bell.
        In Europe, oil and gas companies on the Stoxx Europe 600 were down 1.4% following recent falls in oil prices.
        Danish biotechnology company Novozymes A/S saw the biggest declines on the pan-European index, falling 11% after cutting its sales-growth forecast.
        Weak results also weighed on Deutsche Post AG and Zurich Insurance Group, which were down 3.3% and 4.1%, respectively.
        German retailer Metro AG climbed 5.2% after posting a net profit for the second quarter.
        Greece's Athex Composite Index rose 2.8%, ending a three-day losing streak after reopening Monday following a five-week hiatus.
        Shares in National Bank of Greece rose 26% after falling by a similar margin on Wednesday, making it the best-performing stock in Stoxx Europe 600 index Thursday. The bank's share price has dropped sharply since the Athex opened on Monday.
        Earlier, Asian stocks fell, led by bourses in China as investors continue to assess the level of regulators' commitment to support mainland stocks. The Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.9%
        In Australia, the S&P ASX 200 was down 1.1% after the country's biggest banks announced plans to raise billions of dollars to meet regulatory demands for higher capital holdings.
        Brent crude was down 0.3% at $49.43 a barrel. Gold was down slightly at $1,084.80 a troy ounce.
        Write to Tommy Stubbington at tommy.stubbington@wsj.com and Christopher Whittall at christopher.whittall@wsj.com
        (END) Dow Jones Newswires

        August 06, 2015 09:04 ET (13:04 GMT)

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