Markets Are Down Ahead Of The ECB's Big Announcement

European stocks are down ahead of the ECB decision on rates and policy at 12.45 p.m. GMT. A press conference will follow at 1.30 p.m. GMT.

Germany's DAX is down 0.14%

Spain's IBEX is down 0.57%

Italy's FTSE MIB is down 0.65%

The UK's FTSE 100 is down 0.33%

France's CAC 40 is down 0.36%

In Asia, the Nikkei closed down 0.86% after rallying since Friday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed down 0.20%.

US futures are slightly lower: the S&P is down 4.5 points and the Dow is down 26 points.

Today's big economic event is the European Central Bank's policy decision and president Mario Draghi's press conference. Analysts aren't expecting much action, but Draghi will likely face questions about growing rifts at the ECB.

At 9.30 a.m. GMT the UK's industrial production numbers for September are out, with a 0.4% boost since August expected.

Later on from the US, at 1.30 p.m. GMT initial jobless claims numbers will be out, with 285,000 applications for unemployment benefits expected. Data on unit labour costs and productivity will be released at the same time.