Stocks close flat after Bank of England cuts rates

U.S. stocks are languishing after the Bank of England rolled out an aggressive package of stimulus measures designed to offset the economic harm in the United Kingdom caused by the June Brexit vote.

The Dow Jones industrial average, which snapped a seven-session losing streak Wednesday, slipped 3 points, barely negative in percentage terms. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 stock index was a half-point higher. Falling 0.1% was the Nasdaq composite.

The BoE's moves were more aggressive than Wall Street had expected. As expected, the BoE cut its key interest rate for the first time since the 2009 financial crisis, to 0.25% from 0.5%. But the central bank went a few steps further, also saying it would restart its government bond buying program and also begin buying corporate bonds for the first time.

Bank of England cuts rates to offset Brexit hit

The goal of the stimulus measures is to cushion some of the economic weakness caused by Britain's June 23 vote to exit the European Union. Since the vote, many measures of the UK economy have suffered sharp declines, with readings on the services part of the economy, manufacturing, as well as business and consumer confidence all taking a hit.

U.S. stocks were being dragged down by a drop in the price of U.S.-produced crude. A barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 19 cents, or 0.5%, to $40.64 per barrel. WTI which had doubled in value off its recent low, has run into trouble in recent weeks, tumbling more than 20% and into a new bear market. As was the case earlier in the year, stocks are being negatively impacted by weaker crude prices.

Stock markets in London and Europe rallied on the BoE stimulus news. In London, the benchmark FTSE 100 index ended up 1.6%, after being down 0.2% before the policy announcement. The broad Stoxx Europe 600 index was 0.7% higher.

The yield on the UK 10-year government bond briefly sank near record lows but ticked slightly higher at 0.681% and the British pound fell 1.4% in value versus the dollar.