ECB cuts refi rate; BOE stands pat on rates, lifts QE program
By Polya Lesova and Robert Daniel, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stock futures fell on Thursday, while the U.S. dollar rallied, as data showed a rise in private-sector payrolls and several global central banks took measures to stimulate growth.
After swinging in and out of positive territory amid a barrage of news, futures were pointing lower at last check.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJU2 -0.30% dropped 49 points to 12,818 and S&P 500 futures SPU2 -0.34% fell 5 points to 1,363. Nasdaq 100 futures NDU2 -0.32% dropped 8.5 points to 2,633.
Gold futures slumped after the rate decisions as the U.S. dollar rallied. Gold for August delivery GCQ2 -1.17% fell $20.30 to $1,601 an ounce.
The dollar index DXY +0.77% , which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of other major currencies, rose 1.3% to 82.828. The euro EURUSD -1.0704% fell 1% to $1.2386.
The ADP employment report showed that private-sector payrolls rose by 176,000 in June, well above expectations. Separate data indicated that weekly jobless claims declined by 14,000 last week to 374,000, the lowest level in six weeks.
The reports come ahead of Friday’s closely watched jobs report from the Labor Department; economists polled by MarketWatch expect nonfarm payrolls to increase by 100,000 in June, compared with 69,000 in May.
ISM nonmanufacturing data are due at 10 a.m. Eastern time.
Investors also digested moves from global central banks. China cut interest rates for the second time in less than a month. In Europe, the Bank of England expanded the size of its quantitative-easing program, while the European Central Bank cut interest rates, as expected.
In a half-day of trading Tuesday before the Independence Day holiday, U.S. stocks closed higher after a surprise jump in the nation’s factory orders for May and as higher commodities prices boosted energy and materials stocks.
The Dow industrials DJIA +0.56% finished Tuesday near the blue-chip barometer’s intraday high, advancing 72.43 points, or 0.6%, to 12,943.82. The S&P 500 index SPX +0.62% closed up 8.5 points, or 0.6%, at 1,374.02 and the Nasdaq Composite index COMP +0.84% advanced nearly 25 points, or 0.8%, to finish at 2,976.08.
Barclays
Barclays PLC BCS -2.14% UK:BARC +0.24% , the U.K. banking major, will remain a key focus for investors.
On Wednesday, a day after he resigned as chief executive, Bob Diamond told U.K. lawmakers that until official investigations began, he had no knowledge that traders at the bank had tried to rig interest rates. See: Diamond addresses U.K. lawmakers.
In addition, many U.S. retailers are reporting Thursday their same-store sales for June. This is a key apples-to-apples comparison for the industry, stripping out the effects of new and closed stores. See: June retail-sales preview.
Costco Wholesale Corp. COST +0.02% reported that same-store sales rose 3%. A survey of analysts by Thomson Reuters produced a consensus estimate of monthly same-store sales up 3.7%.
Polya Lesova is MarketWatch's New York deputy bureau chief.
Robert Daniel is MarketWatch's Middle East bureau chief, based in Tel Aviv.
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