U.S. stocks open higher after ECB rate cut

U.S. stocks opened higher Thursday after the European Central Bank (ECB) cut the benchmark interest rate to a record low of zero percent.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 48.35 points, or 0.28 percent, to 17,048.71. The S&P 500 added 5.02 points, or 0.25 percent, to 1,994.28. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 17.79 points, or 0.38 percent, to 4,692.17.

The Governing Council of the ECB decided to cut the main refinancing operations interest rate for the euro area by 5 basis points to a record low of zero percent on Thursday.

The interest rate on the marginal lending facility will be decreased by 5 basis points to 0.25 percent and the interest rate on the deposit facility will be decreased by 10 basis points to minus 0.40 percent, with effect from March 16, 2016.

The ECB also expanded its asset purchase program from 60 billion euros (66.81 billion U.S. dollars) to 80 billion euros (89.08 billion dollars) per month, beginning in April.

On the U.S. economic front, in the week ending March 5, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims decreased 18,000 from the previous week's revised level to 259,000, below market consensus of 272,000, said the Labor Department Thursday.

The 4-week moving average was 267,500, a decrease of 2,500 from the previous week's revised average.

On Wednesday, U.S. stocks ended higher after wavering in a tight range, as investor sentiment was buoyed by a solid rebound in oil prices. Endi