RTTN: U.S. Stocks Up Following ECB Interest-Rate Move
By Tomi Kilgore
U.S. stock futures rose, with blue chips on course to hit another record high, after the European Central Bank lowered interest rates, and said it was preparing to provide more stimulus to promote economic growth.
European stock markets were also broadly gains after the ECB's decision, while the euro fell.
About 50 minutes ahead of the open, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 62 points, or 0.4%, to 16780.
S&P 500 index futures added six points, or 0.3%, to 1932 and Nasdaq-100 futures advanced 11 points, or 0.3%, to 3754. Changes in stock futures don't always accurately predict stock moves after the opening bell.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.2% to close at a record high for the 16th time this year, while the Dow rose 0.1% to close less than 0.1% below its record high reached Monday.
The ECB lowered its main lending rate to 0.15% from 0.25% Thursday, and cut the interest rate on its deposit facility to -0.1% from 0%. ECB President Mario Draghi said the central bank decided to ramp up preparations to inject liquidity into the marketplace through purchases asset-backed securities.
The Stoxx Europe 600 gained 0.2%, and was within 0.3% of its 6 1/2-year high hit on Monday. Just before the ECB's decision, the index was up 0.3%.
Earlier, the Bank of England left its monetary policy unchanged, as was expected.
"The market's not disappointed, and that's good news," said Doug Shapiro, equity trader at brokerage firm Raymond James.
But he said the ECB's moves didn't seem like they were enough to energize investors. "We're all waiting for a spark to get things going, and [the ECB decision] doesn't seem to be it," Mr. Shapiro said.
On the economic data front, initial claims for jobless benefits increased by 8,000 to 312,000 in the latest week, roughly in line with expectations of 310,000. But investors' focus will be on Friday's jobs report for May, which is expected to show nonfarm payroll growth of 210,000.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note ticked higher to 2.629%, after rising for a fifth-straight session to 2.604% late Wednesday.
Gold futures were little changed at $1,244.50 an ounce, while crude oil futures eased 0.4% to $102.20 a barrel. The dollar gained some ground against the euro, but eased against the yen.
Asian markets ended mostly higher. China's Shanghai Composite rallied 0.8% to snap a four-session losing streak, while Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gained 0.1% to the highest close in nearly three months.
Among some early stock movers, Sprint rallied 2.1% and T-Mobile US advanced 0.8%, after The Wall Street Journal reported that the telecommunications companies are moving closer to a merger that would value T-Mobile at around $32 billion. The acquisition could happen early this summer, the report said.
Ciena climbed 15% after the telecom-equipment operator reported better-than-expected fiscal second-quarter adjusted earnings and revenue and provided a revenue outlook for the current quarter that was above analyst projections.
Novavax slid 7.3% after the biopharmaceutical company said it was planning a public offering of $100 million worth of its common stock.
