Stocks fall for the week after insurers take hit on Irma risk

During the past week the pan-European Stoxx 600 ended 0.17 percent down. Sectors pointed in different directions by the close. The ECB kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged on Thursday and said it stands ready to increase its asset purchase program if needed.

Draghi said low inflation rates meant that a “substantial degree” of monetary policy remained necessary until the end of the year at least. But he added the central bank would decide at its October meeting on the status of its bond-buying program for next year.

The euro extended its weekly advance over the greenback after the European Central Bank boosted its growth forecast on Thursday. Though Wall Street expects the euro’s ascent to moderate, the euro gained 0.1 percent Friday after a 1 percent climb against the greenback Thursday.

Major U.S. equity indexes posted weekly declines as Hurricane Irma barreled toward the east coast while interest rates hampered financial stocks.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 189.77 points for the week while the S&P 500 fell 0.61 percent over the same period. The Nasdaq composite dropped 1.17 percent since Tuesday. Markets were closed Monday for Labor Day.

Shares of major insurance companies fell earlier in the week ahead of Hurricane Irma’s landfall in Florida, but managed to clinch a solid rebound Friday afternoon. Home improvement and materials companies surged ahead of the storm’s projected destruction in Florida.

Bank stocks caught a breather after falling throughout the week, as demand for safe haven assets steadily increased while investors grew more doubtful over a hike in interest rates by year’s end.

Meanwhile, the threat from North Korea lingers. U.S. President Donald Trump said it’s not “inevitable” that the U.S. will wind up in a war with North Korea over its continued development of nuclear weapons, though military action remains an option.