Global Markets Mixed, U.S. Futures Just Above Flat; ECB Decision Eyed

By Dow Jones Newswires Staff

U.S. stock futures were just above flat in early European trade, the dollar was slightly higher and U.S. Treasury yields stabilized after big falls Wednesday.

Elsewhere, stocks in Asia ended mixed with solid gains in mainland China and South Korea even as Japan's Nikkei fell. European stock markets notched tentative gains ahead of what is expected to be another European Central Bank rate cut.

• U.S. futures for the S&P 500 were hovering a touch above flat, futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.1% and those for the Nasdaq were up 0.2% after a mixed close on Wall Street Wednesday. Some weak PMI and jobs data led President Trump to again call for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to cut interest rates.
• That in turn led to sharp declines in U.S. Treasury yields on Wednesday of eight basis points in the two-year yield and 9.5 basis points in the 10-year. Early in Europe Thursday, the two-, 10- and 30-year Treasury yields were trading flat at 3.879%, 4.367% and 4.890%, respectively, according to Tradeweb.
• The U.S. dollar edged slightly higher against a basket of currencies but remained close to six-week lows. The dollar fell on Wednesday after weak U.S. ADP private payrolls data, while trade-policy uncertainty continues to weigh on the U.S. currency. The DXY index was last up 0.1% to 98.849, having hit a six-week low of 98.583 earlier this week. The euro was up 0.1% to $1.1423, with the European Central Bank set to lower its key interest rate Thursday, its eighth reduction in borrowing costs in a little more than a year.
• Meanwhile, Asian stock indexes were mostly higher, led by mainland Chinese stocks after a private gauge of China's services sector indicated an uptick in activity. Gains on the mainland were driven by technology-related stocks, with ChiNext closing 1.2% higher and the Shanghai Composite climbing 0.2%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.9%. South Korea's Kospi increased by 1.5%, supported by tech giants. In contrast, Japan's Nikkei fell 0.5%.
• In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 gained 0.1% in morning trading. France's CAC 40 increased 0.2% and Germany's DAX climbed 0.1% after closing at a new record on Wednesday. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 added 0.1%.
• Gold futures edged lower but still held near monthly highs. They were recently down 0.1% at $3,394.90 a troy ounce, with prices trading in a narrow range. Oil prices edged higher after slipping around 1% in the previous session. Brent crude gained 0.4% to $65.11 a barrel, while WTI was up 0.3% at $63.04 a barrel.

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