Futures are little changed

Advertisement

Stock futures are just a little higher this morning ahead of the policy announcement and press conference from the European Central Bank.

Advertisement

Near 7:06 a.m. ET, Dow futures were up 43 points, S&P 500 futures were up 6, and Nasdaq futures were up 13 points. Stocks ended Wednesday's session little changed.

At 7:45 ET, markets are expecting the ECB to lower its deposit rate further into negative territory, and for president Mario Draghi to confirm that there will be more stimulus, since he said there were "no limits" to what the bank would do to reach its 2% inflation target.

The euro was slightly lower against the dollar, near 1.0980 ahead of the decision. According to Bloomberg, the euro's recent drop has made it the worst-performing major currency over the past month.

Draghi is the highlight of the morning, and the ECB comes after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand unexpectedly cut rates Wednesday, citing weaker global growth prospects. The kiwi got hit hard.

Advertisement

At 8:30 a.m. ET, initial jobless claims data will cross.

Crude oil was little changed, with West Texas Intermediate crude futures in New York near $38.25 per barrel.

Refresh this page for updates.

NOW WATCH: What the 'i' in 'iPhone' stands for - as explained by Steve Jobs