The European Central Bank (ECB) raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points on Thursday as the bloc continues to combat high inflation rate.
The central bank brought its benchmark rate to 3.25%, a level not seen since November 2008, saying that the inflation outlook continues to be too high for too long.
The decision to raise rates comes after the release of its consumer prices data earlier this week that showed an increase in the headline inflation to 7% for April. Meanwhile, core inflation, which excludes the volatile food and energy prices, decreased slightly to 5.6%.
The mood and tone by ECB on Thursday signalled that more hikes could be delivered in the next meetings.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 300 points or around 1% in the morning session on Thursday, a day after the Federal Reserve delivered a 25 bps rate hike. The S&P 500 decreased 0.9% and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.6%.
