LONDON: The euro fell against the dollar and European shares and German Bunds rose on Thursday after the European Central Bank surprised markets by cutting its refinancing rate to a new record low of 0.25 percent.
The euro slid more than 1 percent on the day to hit a seven-week low of $1.3356, down from around $1.3490 just before the ECB announcement.
Bund futures rose as high as 141.88 after the decision, up 73 ticks on the day. Euro zone bond yields fell broadly after earlier trading mostly flat.
The Euro STOXX 50 index of euro zone blue chips hit a five-year high and was up 0.9 percent at 3,083.40 points. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index was also at a five-year high, up 1.1 percent.
"It's quite a surprise that they went ahead and cut rates right away," said Clairinvest fund manager Ion-Marc Valahu.
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