Nasdaq recedes from all-time high

U.S. stocks slipped Thursday as traders digested the decision by the European Central Bank to keep interest rates unchanged and looked for fresh catalysts to propel the market higher.

The Nasdaq composite shrank 0,5% from its all-time closing high set in the previous session. The Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 fell 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively.

As expected, the ECB in a statement said it would keep its key deposit rate unchanged at -0.4%, but also said it would continue to buy 80 billion in euros worth of bonds each month until March 2017 or perhaps longer. In a press conference ECB president Mario Draghi did not announce any new stimulus measures as many investors had hoped. Draghi did not extend the duration of its asset-purchase program, dubbed QE, or announce new assets to be purchased.

Central bank support from global bankers is being scrutinized more and more as the intended results of stronger growth and higher inflation have been difficult to attain. At the same time many investors worry that the massive central bank stimulus is distorting markets and inflating asset prices.

Investors are looking for a fresh catalyst to propel stocks higher. Currently the broad S&P 500 is overvalued and U.S. corporate earnings are in a slump, with profit growth contracting four straight quarters, according to Thomson Reuters data.

The lack of new stimulus in the eurozone knocked stocks lower in Germany and France, with main stock indexes there falling 1.4% and 1.3%, respectively. The broad Stoxx Europe 600 index was down 1%.

In currency trading, the euro rose in value vs. the dollar and climbed back above the 1.13 level.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.566%, from 1.541 Wednesday. Yields also rose in Germany and Japan.

Oil prices were on the rise, with U.S.-produced crude rising 1.8% to $46.35 per barrel.

In economic news, the latest weekly data point on employment came in positive. The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits fell by 4,000 to 259,000.