NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stock futures rallied on Thursday after the European Central Bank surprised many market watchers by lowering interest rates.
Futures largely maintained their sizable gains after a better-than-expected estimate on U.S. economic growth, as well as a jobless-claims figure that roughly matched forecasts. On the corporate front, all eyes will be on Twitter Inc.'s debut on the New York Stock Exchange.
From flat levels ahead of the ECB decision, futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJZ3) were last up 75 points, or 0.5%, to 15,758, while those for the S&P 500 index (SPZ3) jumped 6.30 points, or 0.4%, to 1,771.90.
Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index (NDZ3) rose 6.50 points, or 0.2%, to 3,382.50.
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Twitter prices IPO above range, at $26 Twitter priced its initial public offering at $26 on Wednesday, after raising its original range to $23 to $25 from $17 to $20 earlier this week. The company is selling 70 million shares. MarketWatch's Dan Gallagher reports. (Photo: AP)
The euro tumbled against the dollar (EURUSD) after the ECB cut rates by quarter of a percentage point to a record low 0.25%. A news conference by ECB President Mario Draghi is under way. "We sense the spectre of deflation has caused the ECB to blink," said Stephen Pope, managing partner of Spotlight Ideas, in a note.
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The Bank of England's monetary policy committee left rates unchanged on Thursday.
Bloomberg 
Enlarge Image Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank. In U.S. economic news, the government said third-quarter GDP increased by 2.8%, beating forecasts for 2.3%. Weekly jobless claims came in at 336,000, roughly in line with expectations of 335,000.
Adam Sarhan, chief executive at Sarhan Capital, said Friday's U.S. nonfarm-payrolls report is the bigger story and "could sway sentiment one way or another."
Wall Street stocks finished mostly higher on Wednesday, with the Dow (DJIA) notching a closing high.
Twitter (TWTR) will go public on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday. The micro-blogging site priced its offering at $26 a share, to raise as much as $2 billion, making it the second-biggest debut ever for an Internet company. Read: What Twitter is saying about that new offering price.
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Analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage of Twitter with a buy rating and a $32 price target.
Shares of Whole Foods (WFM) dropped 10% in premarket trading, after the high-end supermarket chain fell short of analysts' revenue expectations late Wednesday. It also cut its fiscal-year guidance, citing current sales trends.
Shares of Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) fell 4% in premarket trading, after the wireless chip maker posted an earnings jump, but gave a disappointing outlook late Wednesday. Read: Twitter, Whole Foods, Disney are stocks to watch
Europe stocks rose after the ECB cut rates, while the euro (EURUSD) dropped sharply.
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Asian stocks fell, with a drop for Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) (JP:7203) weighing on Japan's index after the auto maker posted disappointing results.
Oil prices and gold prices declined, while the dollar rose.
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