European Central Bank Chairman Mario Draghi’s Thursday announcement of a new stimulus plan sent equities plunging. European banks, autos and basic resources performed worst. The SX7E Index of major European banks lost 3.5%.
After nearly four years of negative short-term interest rates, the ECB is out of ammunition. Negative interest rates are doing more harm than good, for example, by forcing Germans to increase savings at the expense of consumption, which depresses economic activity.
Read more: A Draghi Market