Stocks sent lower Thursday morning

U.S. stocks sank Thursday morning on the second consecutive day of disappointing news from a major central bank. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi last week sent stocks higher with his remark that the ECB would do "whatever was needed to preserve the euro." In Frankfurt, Germany, Thursday, Draghi said the ECB's Governing Council had elected to keep the key lending rate at 1 percent and stood ready to take other measures in the future. Policy makers at the U.S. Federal Reserve, although with less implied promise of changes, announced they would stick with their established policies Wednesday, which also disappointed investors. In midmorning trading Thursday, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 151.41 points, or 1.16 percent, to 12,857.27. The Standard and Poor's 500 index shed 12.76 points, or 0.93 percent, to 1,362.38. Tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index dropped 12.06 points, 0.37 percent, to 2,909.34. The benchmark 10-year treasury note rose 15/32 , sending yields to 1.479 percent. The euro fell to $1.214 from Wednesday's $1.2227. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 78.22 yen from 78.44 yen. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index added 0.13 percent, 11.33, to 8,653.18.