U.S. Stocks Open to the Downside

Update from 6:50 a.m. EST

Stocks on Wall Street kicked off Thursday's session with losses, as traders took in reminders that the credit crisis was still hurting major financial firms and economic data that did little to bolster confidence.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 51 points to 9089, and the S&P 500 gave back 7.4 points to 945. The Nasdaq shed 19 points to 1663.

As credit markets remained stagnant and the risk of inflation appeared to decline, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England both reduced their key interest rates Thursday. The ECB dropped its target rate 50 basis points to 3.25%, and the Bank of England slashed its rate 1.5% to 3%. ...