Stocks go nowhere after ECB signals steady rates till next summer

Stocks were mixed Thursday after the European Central Bank announced plans to rein in a large-scale stimulus program that's been in place since the eurozone debt crisis. Trade tensions with the US heated up on multiple fronts, including with China and the EU. The dollar gained against a basket of peers.

Here's the scoreboard:

Dow Jones industrial average: 25,181.49 −19.71 (-0.078%)

S&P 500: 2,783.85 +8.22 (+0.30%)

1. European Union countries are reportedly coordinating retaliatory tariffs against the US. EU countries unanimously back a proposal to hit Washington with $3.3 billion worth of taxes on US goods, sources told Reuters. That's after President Donald Trump last month imposed steel and aluminum taxes on the US's closest allies.
2. The European Central Bank said its $3 trillion bond-buying program will end in December. The central bank also signaled steady rates through summer of 2019, lowered its growth forecast, and increased its inflation expectations for the next two years. The euro tumbled against the dollar following the announcement.
3. Consumer spending in the US accelerated more than expected last month. US retail sales jumped 0.8% in May, the Commerce Department said, compared with economist estimates for about half of that.
4. US weekly jobless claims unexpectedly dropped. First-time claims for unemployment benefits fell last week by 4,000 to 218,000, the Labor Department said, compared with economist expectations for a modest increase.

And a look at the upcoming economic calendar:

• The Commerce Department is set to announce a list of sanctions against China.
• Consumer sentiment and manufacturing numbers are out in the US.
• Canada reports manufacturing sales.
• European inflation data are out.

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