By Carla Mozee and Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher
open Thursday for Wall Street, as investors took in a surprise rate
cut by the European Central Bank and shrugged off softer reports
from the labor market.
Futures for the S&P 500 index (SPU4) rose 8 points, or 0.4%,
to 2,007.10, while those for the Dow Jones Industrial Average
(DJU4) gained 50 points, or 0.3%, to 17,124. Nasdaq 100 futures
(NDU4) gained 13.50 points, or 0.3%, to 4,085.75.
The S&P 500 index (SPX) and the Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) fell
Wednesday.
Market-moving economic news: The European Central Bank
unexpectedly lowered all its interest rates Thursday to fresh
record lows.
Thursday's key U.S. economic report is ADP's report on hiring in
the private sector, which showed a slowdown during August. The
country's largest payroll-processing firm said the private sector
added 204,000 jobs in August, which was below the 215,000 jobs
expected.
Weekly jobless claims numbers rose slightly more than expected,
but remain near an eight-year bottom.
The two reports are preludes to the August jobs report on
Friday. Economists expect.
Separately, the U.S. trade deficit shrunk in July, and the June
gap was revised lower, offering evidence that trade was slightly
less of a drag on the nation's growth during the summer than
initially reported.
A look at the service sector will come from the Institute for
Supply Management at 10 a.m. EasternTime. Economists polled by
MarketWatch expect the ISM's index to come in at 57.2%. Service
providers employ more than 80% of American workers.
The slew of reports will lead up to a speech by Cleveland
Federal Reserve President Loretta Mester at 12:30 p.m. Eastern
Time. Mester, who is a voting member of the Fed policy committee,
will talk about her economic outlook at the Economic Club of
Pittsburgh. This will mark Mester's second public speaking event
since she took over as head of the Cleveland Fed on June 1, Goldman
Sachs noted.
Stocks to Watch: Yum! Brands (YUM) shares fell 3.5% after the
fast-food restaurant chain said in a filing to the SEC that its
same-store sales in China, where half of its revenue was generated,
fell about 13% in the third-quarter from a year ago.
PVH Corp. (PVH) shares jumped 8% after the apparel company's
second-quarter earnings, reported late Wednesday, beat
expectations.
Hovnanian Enterprises (HOV) is expected to report higher
quarterly profit and sales, of 9 cents a share and $563 million,
respectively. (Read more about the day's notable stock moves here:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/tesla-picks-nevada-for-battery-plant-gannett-announces-layoffs-2014-09-04.)
Other markets: European stocks rose after the ECB decision.
Asian stocks ended mixed, with the Nikkei Average in Tokyo down by
0.3%.
Oil futures (CLV4) were modestly lower, and gold futures (GCZ4)
were little changed.
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