Market Buzz: ECB inaction turns indices south

Russian markets are likely to continue trending downward as investors eye the US government’s jobs report for July, expected later today.

European stocks declined Thursday after ECB President Mario Draghi failed to announce concrete steps to bring down borrowing costs for debt-ridden Spain and Italy. The Spanish IBEX 35 dropped 5.16%, and the Italian FTSE MIB shed 4.6%. The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 1.3%. Earlier Thursday, the ECB had kept its key interest rate at 0.75%.Russian stocks also closed lower Thursday as investors abandoned hope that the ECB would take immediate steps to tackle the Eurozone crisis. The MICEX declined 1. % and the RTS lost 1.4%.US stocks on Thursday retreated for the fourth consecutive day, with the ECB meeting failing to calm investor worries. The Dow Jones lost 0.7%, while the S&P 500 declined 0.8% and the Nasdaq fell 0.4%. Most Asian markets tumbled Friday, joining a global chorus disappointed by the lack of action from the ECB. Japan’s Nikkei lost 1.2%, weighed down by weak earnings from Sharp Corp. and Sony Corp. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.9% and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 1%, and South Korea’s Kospi retreated 1%. The Shanghai Composite bucked this trend, gaining 0.4%.