U.S.
stocks fluctuated before testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Janet
Yellen on the economic outlook, while the scale of the European Central
Bank’s additional stimulus measures disappointed some investors.
The
Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.2 percent to 2,083.56 at 9:32
a.m. in New York, after falling 1.1 percent yesterday amid a plunge in
oil prices. Equity futures earlier swung between gains and losses amid
the ECB’s moves and comments from President Mario Draghi.
The
ECB will extend its quantitative easing program until at least March
2017 and broaden the range of assets purchased while keeping the pace of
monthly purchases steady at 60 billion euros ($65 billion), Draghi
said. The bank’s 25-member Governing Council cut its deposit rate to
minus 0.3 percent, in line forecasts by economists in a Bloomberg
survey. Policy makers left the main refinancing rate and the marginal
lending rate unchanged.
Draghi
had been preparing markets for further stimulus since October,
prompting economists surveyed by Bloomberg to unanimously predict the
central bank would boost its efforts this week.
Investors
also await testimony from Fed Chair Janet Yellen on the economic
outlook. Yellen will appear before the congressional Joint Economic
Committee at 10 a.m. in Washington, delivering a prepared statement and
responding to questions from members. Yellen in a speech yesterday
signaled confidence in the outlook, laying the groundwork for a December
interest-rate increase. Traders are pricing in 76 percent odds the Fed
will raise rates at the conclusion of its next meeting on Dec. 16.
A
report today showed applications for unemployment benefits rose last
week, maintaining a see-saw pattern around four-decade lows that shows
persistent strength in the labor market. In addition to the claims data,
investors will get other clues on the health of the economy today.
Factory orders for October probably increased, while a gauge for the
services industry slipped, economists forecast.
Source : Bloomberg
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