Futures are sliding

The euro is surging and US futures are lower after the European Central Bank cut its deposit rate, as expected, and announced further stimulus measures.

The ECB cut its deposit rate further into negative territory, from -0.20% to -0.30%. And in a press conference, Mario Draghi said the the bank would extend its bond-buying program until at least March 2017 or beyond.

US stock futures took a dive, with Dow futures down by as many as 60 points ahead of the market open. Besides the ECB news, initial jobless claims crossed, showing a rise by 9,000 to 269,000 last week, in line with expectations.

On Wednesday, stocks closed lower, and the Dow fell into the red for 2015.

Here's the Dow's drop on Thursday morning:

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The euro rose to as high as 1.0637 to the dollar, the highest level in nearly a month.

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And European stock indices plunged into the red, with the Euro Stoxx 50 down by over 80 points, or about 2.4%.

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