NEW YORK — U.S. stocks mostly rose Thursday as markets get accustomed to the idea of investing with less of a safety net from the world’s central banks.
The European Central Bank laid out its plan to pull back from the stimulus it’s pumped into markets. It also said it plans to hold off on raising interest rates for longer than some expected. More evidence arrived that the U.S. economy is improving, meanwhile, which helped send the S&P 500 to its fourth gain in the last five days.
The S&P 500 index rose 6.86 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,782.49. The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 25.89, or 0.1 percent, to 25,175.31, and the Nasdaq composite rose 65.34, or 0.8 percent, to 7,761.04, a record. Roughly four stocks rose for every three that fell.
For years since the Great Recession, central banks around the world have thrown massive amounts of stimulus at markets, chiefly through the purchase of billions of dollars of bonds each month. That era neared its end after Europe’s central bank said it will begin phasing out its bond-buying program in the autumn before ceasing it after December.
