World stocks weak after central bank meetings

By Jeremy Gaunt, European Investment Correspondent

LONDON (Reuters) - World stocks were weaker on Thursday following the Federal Reserve's decision to keep interest rates near zero for "an extended period" and signals from others that the global economy is not yet out of the woods.

Wall Street looked set for tentative gains at the start.

The European Central Bank and Bank of England both kept rates steady, as expected, but the latter increased its program of asset purchases by 25 billion pounds.

That was at the bottom end of what analysts had been forecasting -- though in line with a Reuters' consensus -- and it pushed sterling higher and bonds lower in the UK and the euro zone.

The dollar was flat against a basket of major currencies, however, unable to keep up early gains that came after the previous session's post-Fed sell off.

Investors were also bracing for Friday's monthly U.S. jobs report, which often prompts volatility on financial markets.<ECI/US>

"Investors were pushing the market lower, preparing for more selling by investors such as hedge funds in case U.S. jobs data raises a disturbance," said Tsuyoshi Segawa, an equity strategist at Mizuho Securities.

Adecco, the world's largest staffing company, said a tentative pickup in demand for temporary workers and signs that companies are making fewer layoffs have boosted its confidence in the economic recovery.