MARKET SNAPSHOT: U.S. Stocks: Futures Trim Gains As Draghi Outlines QE Game Plan

By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch

China stocks tumble after growth downgraded

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures trimmed earlier gains Thursday following a raft of weaker-than-expected economic reports, including jobless claim.

A spate of gauges of U.S. economic health rolled out as Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank began a news conference, after leaving key interest rates unchanged, announcing that the central bank would kick off a trillion-dollar plan to purchase government bonds March 9.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJH5) rose 37 points to 18,123. The same held true for S&P 500 index (SPH5) futures, up 4.2 points to 2,100, and those for the Nasdaq-100 (NDH5), up 8.75 points to 4,452.7.

U.S. stocks logged the second straight session of losses on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 (SPX) hitting its lowest level in two weeks. Among the disappointments was private-sector employment data, which is used by economists to get a feel for the bigger employment report, due Friday.

The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) also has pulled back further from its psychological milestone of 5,000, which it hit Monday.

Read: The 3 things most likely to kill the bull market's buzz (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-3-things-most-likely-to-kill-the-bull-market-2015-03-04)

As well as nervousness ahead of nonfarm payrolls, global economic worries were back in the headlights for investors after China -- viewed as the world's growth engine -- cut its economic growth forecast to around 7% this year.

Read: China lowers growth target (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-lowers-growth-target-to-about-7-2015-03-04-191032533)

Draghi ahead:Live blog: ECB to begin government bond purchases on March 9 (http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2015/03/05/european-central-bank-live-blog-draghi-expected-to-offer-qe-details/)

The euro (EURUSD) continued to hit fresh 11-year lows (<p>http://www.marketwatch.com/story/euro-sinks-to-fresh-11-year-low-as-ecb-looms-2015-03-05%3c/p%3e%3cp/%3e) ahead of that meeting.

Read: 5 things to know about the ECB's QE ahead of key meeting (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/5-things-for-investors-to-know-about-the-ecbs-qe-ahead-of-thursdays-meeting-2015-03-04)

Economic data: The number of people who applied for U.S. unemployment benefits shot up to 320,000 in the week ended Feb. 28, marking the highest level since last May. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected claims to fall to a seasonally adjusted 301,000.

Fourth-quarter productivity fell 2.2%, (originally down 1.8%) while unit labor costs increased 4.1%, from originally reported 3.1%. Factory orders for January are due at 10 a.m. Eastern.

San Francisco Federal Reserve President John Williams, who is a voting member, will speak on the economic outlook at the CFA Society of Hawaii at 11:15 p.m. Eastern.

Stocks to watch: AbbVie Inc.(ABBV) said it would buy cancer biotech Pharmacyclics Inc.(PCYC) in a $21 billion cash-and-stock deal. Shares of Pharmacyclics were up 9% in premarket trading. Shares of AbbVie were down nearly 5%.

Shares of Costco Wholesale Corp.(COST) rose around 2% after the retailer reported a quarterly profit (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/costco-profit-up-29-helped-by-57-mln-tax-boost-2015-03-05) that beat analysts expectations.

Specialty drugs company Mallinckrodt PLC (MNK) said it has agreed to buy privately-held critical care company Ikaria Inc. from an investor group led by private-equity firm Madison Dearborn, in a deal valued at about $2.3 billion. Shares of Mallinckrodt were up 3%.

Other markets: While stock futures flattened out, European stocks rose ahead of the ECB meeting and the euro slid.

The Hang Seng Index (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/chinese-stocks-decline-amid-fears-of-an-economic-slowdown-2015-03-05) fell 1.1%, the biggest daily drop in a month after China's Premier Li Keqiang cut the country's growth target and said "economic downward pressure is still intensifying."

In other markets, oil prices (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-fluctuates-on-chinas-lower-growth-target-libyan-supply-issues-2015-03-05-21035958)(CLJ5) moved higher, and gold (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-looks-to-end-losing-streak-at-three-2015-03-05)(GCJ5) was marginally lower.

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires