10 Things You Need To Know Before The Opening Bell

Mamta Badkar

Jul. 5, 2012

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Good morning. Here's what you need to know.

• Asian markets were mixed in overnight trading with the Shanghai Composite down 1.17 percent. Europe is higher and U.S. futures are up after China's surprise rate cut and Bank of England's move.

• China announced a major surprise rate cut this morning. The People's Bank of China cut the one-year lending rate by 31 basis points and the deposit rates by 25 basis points, but left the reserve requirement ratio unchanged. 

• Bank of England raised the target of its asset purchase program by £50 billion to £375 billion. Meanwhile, it held its benchmark interest rate at 0.50 percent.

• Today, Spain sold €3 billion of medium and long-term notes at the top end of its target after last week’s European Union summit. But Spanish 10-year borrowing costs are rising again.

• German factory orders were up 0.6 percent in May from the previous month, pushed by euro area demand. Orders were however down 5.4 percent from a year ago. 

• The ADP employment report for June is out at 8:15 a.m. ET, followed by initial jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. ET. Consensus is for ADP private payroll employment to post a 95,000 gain, and for initial claims to stay the same at 386K. 

• The ECB cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 0.75 percent. It also cut the deposit rate to zero. Mario Draghi is expected to hold a press conference at 8:30 a.m. ET.

• ISM manufacturing index for June will be released at 10 a.m. ET. Expectations are for the composite index level to decline to 53. 

• UK home prices climbed 1 percent month-over-month in June, according to Halifax. Home prices were down 0.2 percent from a year ago.

• The U.S. is filing a WTO complaint against China for imposing taxes on more than $3 billion worth of U.S. made autos.