MW:Stock futures higher after ECB cuts rates; GM up
By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
MADRID (MarketWatch) — U.S. stock futures rose on Thursday, adding to earlier gains after the European Central Bank met expectations with a rate cut.
Still to come for U.S. investors: weekly jobless claims, productivity data and the trade deficit. Shares of General Motors Co. rose after results.
Futures for the Dow industrials DJM3 +0.57% rose 54 points, or 0.4%, to 14,690, while those for the Standard & Poor’s 500 index SPM3 +0.68% rose 5.5 points to 1,582.80.
Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index NDM3 +0.73% rose 11.50 points to 2,875.
The ECB cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 0.5%, which was in line with expectations. Investors will now turn to a press conference that begins at 8:30 a.m. Eastern.
“A rate cut by the ECB is welcome in the sense that there hasn’t been a reason not to cut for at least six months,” said Dan Greenhaus, chief global strategist at BTIG LLC, in emailed comments.
“However, that which ails Europe will not be solved by today’s action. That said, given how poorly things are going, some action is better than no action.”
Data from the U.S. is expected to show no big improvement in jobless claims or exports. Weekly jobless claims, due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time, are expected to rise slightly, to 445,000 from 339,000.
At the same time, productivity is expected to rise by 0.9% in the first three months of 2013, compared with a 1.9% fall in the prior quarter. And finally, the trade deficit is forecast to drop to $42 billion in March from $43 billion in February, largely due to fewer imports.
Sentiment is bit fragile going into Thursday’s session after Wall Street stocks tumbled the previous day, ending a four-day win streak for the Dow industrials DJIA -0.94% , which fell 138.85 points to 14,700.95. Those losses came as the Federal Reserve said it would keep its $85 billion monthly bond-buying program in place, but may cut or increase that program depending on how the economy performs.
Private-sector jobs growth also came in weak on Wednesday, adding to gloom.
On the earnings front, General Motors GM -2.14% posted first-quarter earnings per share of 58 cents and sales of $36.9 billion. The auto maker was expected to report first-quarter earnings of 54 cents a share, according to a consensus estimate by FactSet. Shares of GM rose 4% in premarket trading.
Cardinal Health ( CAH -0.63% said fiscal third-quarter earnings rose 3.6% amid a tax benefit and stronger margins.
Shares of Facebook Inc. FB +2.15% rose 1.7% in premarket trading after the social networking group posted a sales jump, beating estimates.
In overseas markets, Asia shares fell after HSBC revised down its April reading on activity in Chinese factories. European markets remained choppy after the ECB cut rates.
Gold prices rose, along with crude and the dollar rose against the euro.
