MARKET SNAPSHOT: U.S. Stocks Slip From Records After ECB Moves

By Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks dipped but stayed near record territory Thursday, after giving up early gains that came as the European Central Bank unveiled a raft of stimulus measures.

The ECB announced a negative rate on reserves that banks park at the central bank, meeting expectations. But the ECB also revealed preparations toward the purchase of asset-backed securities and several other moves aimed at boosting inflation and encouraging lending in the euro zone.

In U.S. economic news, a report on weekly jobless claims roughly matched forecasts, and on the corporate front, Sprint Corp. and T-Mobile US Inc. reportedly have moved closer to merging.

The S&P 500(SPX) dipped 3 points, or less than 0.2%, to 1,925 after earlier touching a fresh intraday record above 1,931. On Wednesday, the benchmark scored a record close for the 16th time this year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average(DJI) was essentially flat, edging down 3 points, or less than 0.1%, to 16,734. The blue-chip index also hit an intraday record early Thursday, topping 16,774.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite(RIXF) lost 6 points, or less than 0.2%, to 4,246, while the small-cap Russell 2000(RUT) dipped 2 points, or less than 0.2%, to 1,129.

The ECB cut its deposit facility to negative 0.10% from 0%, and it dropped its main lending rate to 0.15% from 0.25%. During a news conference, ECB President Mario Draghi described the bank's actions as wide-ranging and "very significant," adding that it is ready to act further if necessary. Read MarketWatch's blog of the ECB news conference

In U.S. economic news on Thursday, weekly jobless claims rose to 312,000, essentially in line with expectations of 311,000. On Friday, investors will get the U.S. government's May jobs report. Economists are expecting a rise of 210,000 jobs in May, but there is a little trepidation after private-sector payrolls disappointed on Wednesday, showing the slowest pace of jobs growth in four months.

Some strategists remain upbeat as U.S. stocks continue to climb.

"The uptrend still has the support of positive short-term momentum, although a pullback still appears likely in the days ahead," said Katie Stockton, BTIG's chief technical strategist, in emailed comments early Thursday. "We believe any weakness should be viewed as an opportunity to accumulate stocks, given widespread breakouts and healthy global breadth."

Late Wednesday, stock bulls got another boost from S&P Capital IQ. The research firm's Investment Policy Committee -- which has been upbeat on U.S. stocks -- raised its 12-month target for the S&P 500 to 2,100, up 9% from its prior target of 1,985. (Read more: Get your money ready for a big S&P 500 rally http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2014/06/04/get-your-money-ready-for-a-big-sp-500-rally/?link=instory.)

Among individual stocks, Sprint(S) fell 2.1% after The Wall Street Journal reported that the wireless carrier is nearing a deal to buy rival T-Mobile(TMUS) for $40 a share. T-Mobile dropped 3.5%. (Read more in MarketWatch's Movers & Shakers column http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ciena-corp-jumps-on-earnings-pvh-sinks-2014-06-05.)

European stocks climbed, while the euro fell against the dollar (EURUSD) and August gold (GCQ4) gained ground. Asian equities finished largely flat, outside of a 0.8% rise for the Shanghai Composite .

More must-reads from MarketWatch:

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Get your money ready for a big S&P 500 rally

ECB cuts won't fix economy, but they will anger Germany

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