US open: Stocks slide as BoE cuts interest rates

US stocks declined on Thursday after the Bank of England cut interest rates and data showed weekly jobless claims rose more than expected.

At 1518 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.08%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.11% and the Nasdaq declined 0.13%.

The BoE's Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously to lower interest rates by 25 basis points to 0.25%, as expected by economists. The Bank voted 6-3 to boost the size of the asset purchase programme by £60bn.

“Today’s historic decision to cut interest rates for the first time in more than seven years is no major shock, but it does indicate growing concern over the state of Britain’s post-Brexit economy,” said Dennis de Jong, managing director at UFX.com.

“Last month Mark Carney’s rate-setters surprised many by holding their nerve when voting against a reduction, but a raft of underwhelming economic data has finally forced their hand.”

In the US, initial jobless claims rose 3,000 to 269,000 in the week to 30 July, according to the Labor Department. Economists had been expecting a reading of 265,000.

The data comes ahead of the all-important non-farm payrolls report which is expected to show employers added 175,000 jobs in July, compared to 287,000 in June.

Another report from the Commerce Department showed factory orders dropped 1.5% in June from a year ago, better than the 1.9% fall expected.

In corporate news, Kellogg shares gained after the Corn Flakes maker raised its adjusted profit forecasts for 2016.

Viacom climbed as it reported quarterly earnings and revenue that beat analysts' expectations.

Square Inc surged after its second-quarter revenue beat estimates and the company lifted its revenue guidance for the year.

TripAdvisor slid after missing second quarter targets as its revenue declined.