European Central Bank Hints At Future Interest Rate Cut

The European Central Bank sent a ripple across world financial markets Thursday by signaling a potential interest rate cut in the near future.

In a policy update, the ECB decided against changing the rates now and said they will likely stay that way for the next year. However, it said the central bank is examining stimulus options to aid a sagging eurozone economy. Any rate cut would be the bank's first since 2016.

ECB President Mario Draghi said bank members agreed continued stimuli is best, but some debated which elements could be used.

"We had a broad discussion," Draghi told CNBC. "Whenever we have a package so complex as this, you'd expect that people have different nuances about the different parts of the package."

Economist Claus Vistesen at Pantheon Macroeconomics said the ECB's outlook is good news and instills confidence it will do more to boost the economy.

The euro shed some value after the announcement and U.S. markets fell. The Dow was down more than 120 points and the S&P 500 nearly 15 by early Thursday afternoon