European shares fall after central bank policy unchanged

Major European stock markets closed lower Thursday after the European Central Bank kept interest rates unchanged and said current stimulus measures were sufficient and likely to be fully utilized.

The European Stoxx 600 fell 0.6 percent, with ECB President Christine Lagarde saying the bank was carefully monitoring the fallout from the euro's strength. As the momentum of the economic recovery recedes, the central bank is expected to inject new stimulus at some point.

According to Jay Melhi, global market analyst at JP Morgan Asset Management, "The balanced tone at today's ECB meeting was less likely to be monetary easing than many investors had expected.

"The failure to change policy in the ECB is due more to the limited effectiveness of the remaining options at its disposal and not because the Bank is comfortable with the current economic situation," Melhi said.